By Maria Nairn, Gaylord College Class of 2025
Erin Semine Kökdil never planned on becoming a filmmaker. She was unsure where to go next when she graduated from Smith College with a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies and Spanish.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” she explained. “And so I ended up taking a job working for a nonprofit in Guatemala.”
In Guatemala, Kökdil worked in fairtrade, helping locals sell textiles to businesses in Europe and the United States. At the time, she was living with a filmmaker who encouraged her to create a film.
“There was an issue that was really passionate to both of us, and she was like, ‘We should make a documentary about it’… And I just fell in love with documentary filmmaking.”
She went back to school and graduated with a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University in 2018. Since shifting career paths, she has worked on numerous projects, some of which were independent and some of which were affiliated with national or international programs. Most recently, she was on a Fulbright National Geographic Fellowship that took her back to Guatemala for nine months.
“I think with every project I learn more about myself as a person and as a filmmaker and more about the world at large,” she said.
Her most recent project is a poetic documentary called, “Since You Arrived, My Heart Stopped Belonging to Me,” which follows a group of Central American mothers who retraced the steps of their children who went missing in Mexico. She struggled with the weight of telling these stories but was ultimately grateful to do so.
“Hearing the testimonies of these women looking for their missing loved ones, over and over again, was just like really emotionally harrowing. But I think we were able to create a film that really reflected their experiences and…we kind of shifted the camera onto them and their stories.”
When telling stories like these and touching on topics of identity and belonging, Kökdil finds herself navigating differing power dynamics. To avoid crossing any blurred lines, she screens her films throughout the post-production process to ensure she properly portrays the stories.
“The art of documentary filmmaking is really rooted in the studying of the other and extreme power imbalances,” she explained. “And so the way that I approach documentary is really kind of looking at collaborating with folks. We co-create the film together.”
This collaborative approach is what led Kökdil to teach and, ultimately, enter academia. She began as a teaching assistant for a narrative filmmaking class at Stanford and found that she loved seeing others’ perspectives in storytelling. She interviewed at Gaylord during her time in Guatemala. Ultimately, she was most impacted by Gaylord students.
“I was really impressed by the students and their level of creative and critical approach to filmmaking,” she said. “They were able to see things…that I didn’t even see.”
Kökdil currently teaches two sections of sound, light and motion, an introduction to production course, at Gaylord College. One thing she wants to bring to her students is a better understanding of self. Through her own understanding of the topics she holds near and dear, she has been able to seek out projects she connects with.
“Working with young people has given me hope for the future, especially when they're making documentaries and seeing the issues that matter to them and the ways that they want to change their communities.”
It is an understatement to describe this year’s OU/Texas game as a memorable one. Between the nail-biting score in the last minutes of the game, and the exhilaration of the crowd, it is fair to say that if you were able to attend this year’s Red River Rivalry, you witnessed OU history.
Over the past couple of years, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication has had the honor of hosting a space for women looking to step foot into the sports media industry. This group was a chapter of the Association for Women in Sports Media before it became unique to Gaylord College and the organization’s name was changed to Gaylord Women in Sports.
Empathy must be earned, so seek the unknown. We live in a bubble. All of us. Our safety net. Our personalized networks of people who lift us up and reinforce our actions, beliefs and opinions, regardless of their true impact on others. We shun and ostracize those who are different from us.
Everyone in Gaylord College is familiar with the required minor to accompany each degree and expand the field of learning, but what do our students know about pursuing a dual major? Gaylord students with majors in Gaylord and another college are fully immersed in their learning experience by taking their interests to the next level. Double majors within the college find ways to enhance their experiences outside of the college.
Erin Semine Kökdil never planned on becoming a filmmaker. She was unsure where to go next when she graduated from Smith College with a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies and Spanish.
