The Inventory of Stine Emil

The Inventory Series is an ever-growing stockhouse of information and inspiration. An appreciation of all things creative. A place where creative professionals share resources for discovery and inspiration: the tools of creation.

This time we have director and film maker Stine Emil giving us their current inventory:

You have caught me in a transitional life phase. I am softly prepping for the next chapter, and so, I am gathering resources.

As if it’s 2005, I’m diving into the obscure corners of the internet again. Bookmarking and collecting everything that sparks inspiration for future use. I immerse myself in research—compiling references, locations, poems, characters, Wikipedia articles, songs, and random facts that stir different emotions in me for various reasons. 

I differentiate between what I enjoy and what truly inspires me. Whenever I stumble upon something that resonates on a deeper level, it aligns with an inner world that already exists within me, helping me translate that world into reality.

For example, I’ve had this hideously beautiful Stadthalle in Lahnstein, Germany, pinned for a while. It is weird and confusing and insisting. I would love to write a scene set in this location—before, inevitably, it gets renovated and stripped of its character.

Stadthalle Lahnstein

As much as I love the internet, it has fried my brain to the point where I have lost the ability to just sit and read a book the way I used to. Instead, I trick myself into finishing long reads on my phone. I follow Eliza McLamb on Substack and read everything she posts. Last year, she wrote a short autofiction piece about navigating odd jobs post-pandemic, eventually managing OnlyFans profiles for other people:

“The more I worked, the less I felt, the better I got. They loved me at the agency — moving me up swiftly from an impossible “PG” account that sold only cheeky lollipop pics to a high profile internet celebrity who let me use the word “sexy” in messages. She and I developed a particularly good rapport. She was sick of account managers who sexualized her image in a way that made her uncomfortable and I was good at toeing the line. I didn’t sell sex, I sold the idea of sex, which in actuality is much more enticing.”

— from “my year as a hot girl for hire” (2023)

I love cynical teenage girls. 

To me, the themes of alienation, identity, and the awkwardness of transitioning into adulthood are forever relevant. Ghost World (2001) is one of my favorite movies. It is about two girls in the post-high school haze and I recently bought the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, which it is based on.

I always loved reading—and drawing my own—comics. They help me think about how the images and pacing in a story influence the way it unfolds, similar to how I plan a movie scene when I direct it. It is a cool way to explore the connection between scriptwriting, visuals, and how both come together to tell a story well.

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That’s it for this little peek into my ration room. There are many many other things in there that I have not made sense of yet, but that is the beauty of the process.

Thanks for reading.