Riga / LondonSelected practice, 2014—2026

Stephanie
Zapolska

Stephanie Zapolska
Personal archive01 / 06

I direct moving images, create music platforms and build spaces around independent culture.

zapolska.stephanie@gmail.comCurrent work↓
ProfileAbout StephanieRiga / London

Stephanie Zapolska is a director, founder and cultural producer based between Riga and London.

Her practice moves across film, music and live cultural formats, bringing a cinematic and image-led approach to both commissioned work and independent scene-building.

She is the founder, owner and curator of SOUND MOUSSE; founder of PAIR Production; and a co-curator and key partner at The Lodge. Her films, photography and installations have appeared through Vogue Scandinavia, Vogue Italia PhotoVogue, MTV, KAZARJ Magazine and exhibitions in Riga.

01Founded platformLaunching September 2026

Founder · Owner · Curator

SOUND MOUSSE live session
Live sessions from the Baltics

A live-music platform made in the Baltics for listeners across genres.

SOUND MOUSSE gives emerging artists a carefully filmed and recorded space to be seen and heard alongside a growing international programme—from electronic music to metal.

SOUND MOUSSE live session
Live session — wide frame
SOUND MOUSSE live session
Live session — portrait frame
02Film workDirection / Camera / Production

Moving Image

Music videos, art films, social films and commercial work

A directing practice shaped by music, performance and atmosphere.

Stephanie has directed moving-image work since 2014, moving between music videos, art films, social projects and commercial production. The work is cinematic and image-led, with a strong attention to performers, rhythm and constructed worlds.

music videoscommercialscampaigns

Recent direction

Complete Vimeo
2026Kingdom of Giants — RespawnMusic videoDirector
2025violet veil — lettersMusic videoDirector
2025Self Deception — The WeddingMusic videoDirector
2025Annisokay — Silent AnchorMusic videoDirector
2025Amber Creek — ShapeshifterMusic videoDirector / DoP
2024Heavy WeightShort art filmDirector / DoP
2024Unsainted — DecimateMusic videoDirector
2024SXIMA — Eleventh SunMusic videoDirector
2024Short LifeSocial filmDirector
2024Whisper CompassionivisteSocial filmDirector
2024BODE StudiosPerfume filmDirector
2024Where Echoes FadeShort art filmDirector
2023Nick Neo — AstraleMusic videoDirector

London · 2017—2021

Film work from every position.

Before returning her focus to directing and founding her own projects, Stephanie spent several years working across London productions: independent features and short films, television, music videos, commercial sets and pilots.

Directing, co-directing, producing, writing, camera assisting, focus pulling, operating and cinematography built a practical understanding of the whole set—from creative development to the last technical detail.

25Music-video credits
14Short / art / social films
04Commercials directed
02Feature-film credits

Documented in the current CV. Each role is counted separately: when one project involved multiple roles, it contributes one credit to every relevant role.

28Director / Co-Director

Where Echoes Fade · Heavy Weight · Kingdom of Giants — Respawn · Cleartrip — Summer Offer · and 24 further productions

03Producer / Writer

THROWN — Rehearsed · Oliver Marson — Cocaine Romance · The Stage

09Director of Photography / Camera Operator

Amber Creek — Shapeshifter · Heavy Weight · Bleachers television pilot · HÆLOS — Kyoto · and five further productions

081st AC / Focus Pulling

Faulty Roots · From Alena for Alena · The Eternal Moment · Love Is Not Enough · and four further productions

032nd AC / Assistant Camera

BBC EastEnders · The Choice · Indulgence

02Assistant Photographer

Peter Kindersley — Women of Faith, including a portrait sitting with Dame Judi Dench · L&Q

03Album covers & artworkPhotography / Art direction / Design

Album covers and artwork

Visual identities for sound.

Alongside moving image, Stephanie develops artwork around artistic music, translating tone, character and atmosphere into a single image or a wider visual language.

Selected archive. Full credits and newer work will be added as the collection develops.

04The LodgeCultural practice / Riga

A space where projects can begin before they have a name.

The Lodge gives independent music a physical home: a place to rehearse, record, perform, experiment and build lasting relationships.

The Lodge music space in Riga

The Lodge · 2024—present

Underground studio, events and community.

The Lodge is a private underground studio and cultural community in Riga, owned and led by Valentins Mitrofanovs. Stephanie works alongside him as co-curator and key partner, helping shape its music programme, events and creative collaborations.

Its cultural value comes from continuity. Artists can develop work, test ideas and meet one another outside the pressure of a conventional commercial venue. Intimate concerts, recordings and community gatherings become part of the same evolving ecosystem.

Visit The Lodge
Intense Fest poster

A project from The Lodge · 26.09.2025

Intense Fest

The Lodge’s wider programme included the first Intense Fest: a one-day metal festival at Angāra Koncertzāle bringing together six bands from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland. Led through The Lodge by Valentins Mitrofanovs and its partners, Stephanie contributed as part of the core organising team.

Role: Core Team / Event Organisation

05PAIR ProductionProfessional video production

Commercial production with a director’s point of view.

PAIR Production is the professional video production company Stephanie founded in 2024. It develops and produces commercials, branded content and music videos—carrying projects from the first creative conversation through production and delivery.

Based across Riga and London and working internationally, PAIR is the commercial home for Stephanie’s production practice. This personal site shows her authorship; PAIR presents the wider professional production offer.

Visit PAIR Production
Creative directionCommercialsBranded contentMusic videosFull production
06Current practiceProjects / roles / recognition

Projects & milestones

2026

SOUND MOUSSE — Founder, owner and curator of the independent live-music platform, launching publicly in late September with carefully filmed performances from the Baltics and a growing international programme.

2024—present

The Lodge — Co-curator and key partner at the private underground studio and music community in Riga, launched in 2024 and owned and led by Valentins Mitrofanovs. Its programme includes concerts, recordings and Intense Fest 2025, the one-day metal festival Stephanie helped organise as part of the core team.

2024—present

PAIR Production — Founder of the professional video-production company working across commercials, branded content and music videos from creative development through production and delivery.

2014—present

Moving image — Music-video director and producer working across performance, art film and commercial production, with a practice shaped by music, atmosphere and a practical understanding of the full set.

2019—present

Photography and visual art — Award-winning photographer, including an Honourable Mention in the Fiverr Work Life Photographer of the Year 2023. Work has been exhibited at STIHIA Film Festival, MASA and CON–NON–CON, and featured or published by Vogue Scandinavia, Vogue Italia PhotoVogue, MTV, Cherrydeck and Classic Rock.

2019

BA Film, Middlesex University London.