We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Steele. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I believe being successful really boils down to your ability to believe in yourself and remaining disciplined in your craft. With that being said, it’s inevitable we as people are not always going to feel confident and believe in ourselves, and it is discipline that will take us to the finish line. Throughout each filmmaking process, I experience a different level of confidence with each passing day. Some days are higher than others, but I’ve found that the days I stayed consistent no matter my present feelings, my confidence returned with each milestone.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’d say the best way to describe myself is a deeply creative person with an enormous passion to tell personal stories meant to make others feel understood and entertained. My earliest memories are filled with stories I created as a way to cope with my fears of the world around me, and this has continued into adulthood. I was much more linguistic as a kid, and because of this I spent many years believing I should be an author. It wasn’t until I inched towards the end of high-school that I felt my passions were more aligned with visual storytelling. It was then I really dove into learning all I could about the filmmaking process, which mostly came from watching large amount of films. I attended a two year program at a community college in Chattanooga where I was able to create some student short films and learn the fundamentals of writing, directing, producing, and camera work. During this time I met and began working with Christian Eaves, who would be the cinematographer for two of my most recent and larger projects.

Filmmaking is an incredible medium in that it brings so many creative minds together with a singular goal. I have been truly blessed to work with so many creative freelancers like myself in Chattanooga and beyond. What I am most proud of is spearheading projects where I was hopefully able to give independent artists the opportunity to showcase their abilities and see them on the big screen. It means the world to me to see creative minds working together on a film I care so deeply about. My most recent project “Goodnight, August” is a horror western that takes place in a dreamlike Kansas landscape. It was on this project I felt I was finally stepping more into my own creative style. I look forward to continuing my journey as a filmmaker and the many amazing people I will meet along the way.

If there was anything I’d like for others to know about me it’s that I care deeply for people and those that feel unseen and misunderstood. It is most important to me to depict the beauty and horrors of the human condition in my work.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

If there is something I had to unlearn in filmmaking it would be to not feel discouraged when the film didn’t turn out exactly how I imagined. There are so many things that could and will go wrong or at least differently than you thought during all phases of production. I’m a person that directs with a very specific idea in mind, and with my recent project “Goodnight, August” I had to make sacrifices in the editing room that better served the film. The saying “kill your darlings” is a common piece of advice used in all art mediums and it is a true and cruel one!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I bet many would agree that independent filmmaking feels like one big act of resilience all together! With each creative project I have done, I have been completely financially responsible on top of writing, directing, and producing. If I had to speak on resilience in a more personal sense, I’d say the moments where I felt very low energy during the filmmaking process I still try to remain positive and encouraging to those I’ve hired. It is important to me as a director to set the parameter and keep spirits high even in the moments I may be overwhelmed or exhausted.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steelecinema/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1ICj10Xwne5ddOtaweEPzw

Image Credits
The photos provided were given by Laura Morgan by Laura Morgan Media