Documentary Shorts by Erin Semine Kökdil, MFA ’18

Presented by the Department of Art & Art History, this screening features two compelling films by alumna Erin Semine Kökdil (MFA in Documentary Film and Video, 2018)—Love in the Time of Migration and Since You Arrived, My Heart Stopped Belonging to Me.

Love in the Time of Migration

Ronny and Suly have fallen in love. The only problem is that Ronny is in the U.S., while Suly is in Guatemala. Love in the Time of Migration illustrates the modern-day romance of two individuals from a community deeply impacted by migration to the U.S., and asks the question: Can love conquer all?

Runtime: 21 minutes

Since You Arrived, My Heart Stopped Belonging to Me

Each year, hundreds of Central American migrants journeying north towards the United States go missing. Their mothers, left behind with nowhere to turn for support, organize together and journey by bus through Mexico, retracing the last known steps of their missing children. “Since you arrived, my heart stopped belonging to me” is a short documentary that follows these mothers, offering a perspective from the alternate side of the immigration crisis. The film intimately explores the familial grief and longing of these mothers for their children and the tremendous personal costs of the social forces that affect migration.

Runtime: 21 minutes

Erin Semine Kökdil is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator interested in building solidarity and inciting social change through film. Her work is an exploration of love and resistance, touching upon themes of migration, identity, and motherhood, 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, Marble House Project Residency, Independence Public Media Foundation, Points North Institute, National Geographic, Fulbright, and featured on 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. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies and Spanish from Smith College and an MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University. She is the recipient of a 2019 SFFilm Film House Residency, a 2020 Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship, and a 2022 Confluence Fellowship from True False Film Festival. She is an Assistant Professor of Creative Media Production at the University of Oklahoma.

This event is being held in conjunction with our alum open house event and Stanford Reunion Homecoming.

VISITOR INFORMATION: ART115 is located in the McMurtry Building on Stanford campus at 355 Roth Way. Visitor parking is available in designated areas and payment is managed through ParkMobile (free after 4pm, except by the Oval). Alternatively, take the Caltrain to Palo Alto Transit Center and hop on the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle. If you need a disability-related accommodation or wheelchair access information, please contact Julianne Garcia at juggarci [at] stanford.edu (juggarci[at]stanford[dot]edu). This screening event is open to Stanford affiliates, alums, and the general public. Admission is free.

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