Erin Semine Kökdil

I am a documentary filmmaker and educator committed to building solidarity and inspiring social change through film. My work explores love and resistance, touching upon themes of migration, identity, motherhood, and resilience. 

Before coming to Davidson, I was an Assistant Professor of Creative Media Production at the University of Oklahoma. Earlier in my career, I worked with nonprofits and community-led initiatives in the U.S. and Guatemala, experiences that continue to inform my approach to documentary storytelling. Through a participatory approach, my films illustrate my commitment to partnering with those I am filming, ensuring that the process is empowering rather than extractive. 

My films have screened at leading festivals including IDFA, Hot Docs, Camden International Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, and AFI Docs. My work has been supported by National Geographic, Fulbright, Big Sky Institute, Points North Institute, New Orleans Film Festival, Independence Public Media Foundation, Scribe Video Center, and Mountainfilm, and featured on The New Yorker, The LA Times, KQED, Aeon, Vimeo Staff Picks, and Means TV. 

My film Since you arrived, my heart stopped belonging to me was nominated for Best Short Documentary by the International Documentary Association in 2021. My film Love in the Time of Migration was nominated for Best Short Documentary by Cinema Eye Honors in 2025. 

I'm the recipient of a 2019 SFFILM Film House Residency, a 2020 Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship, a 2023 Confluence Fellowship from True/False Film Festival, and a 2025 Southern Producers Lab Fellowship. I am currently the Head of Visual Storytelling at the New American Story Project, a living archive of voices exploring the forces of migration and the lives of new Americans.