Erin Semine Kökdil

Erin Semine Kökdil is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, educator, and National Geographic explorer interested in building solidarity and inciting social change through film. Her work explores love and resistance, touching upon themes of migration, identity, motherhood, and environmental justice, and has screened at IDFA, Hot Docs, Camden International Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, AFI Docs, Palm Springs International ShortFest, among others. Her work has been supported by SFFILM, Mountainfilm, Points North Institute, National Geographic, Fulbright, Independence Public Media Foundation, Big Sky Institute, and featured on the LA Times, The New Yorker, KQED, Vimeo Staff Picks, and Means TV. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, she worked extensively with non-profits and community-led initiatives in the U.S. and Guatemala. Her short documentary, Since you arrived, my heart stopped belonging to me, was nominated for Best Short Documentary at the IDA Awards in 2021. Her short documentary, Love in the Time of Migration, was selected to the Cinema Eye Honors 2024 Best Short Documentary Nominees. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University and is an Assistant Professor of Film, Media, and Digital Studies at Davidson College.