Artist Statement
As an artist, I am often told that you can see yourself in your work. It wasn't until someone told me this, that I started to see the ways that I question my own identity and understanding of the world reflected back to me in the films that I have made. I grew up in-between cultures, with a Turkish father and an American mother, never feeling like I truly fit in. My uncomfortableness in my own skin made me obsessed with the outside world. I loved listening to others' stories, learning about how they became who they were. I never thought this skill of listening, observing, and understanding could translate into a career. Yet after working in the non-profit sector and becoming disillusioned with the power dynamics often involved in international development work, I returned to storytelling. I worked with backstrap weaving collectives in Guatemala, and storytelling was the vehicle I used to introduce these women and their textiles to the international market. After deciding to pursue an MFA in Documentary Film at Stanford to further hone my storytelling craft, I gravitated toward stories of women, culture, loss, and resiliency. Through a participatory approach, my films have illustrated my commitment to partnering with those that I am filming, ensuring that the process is empowering as opposed to depleting. Through patient camerawork, attention to the natural soundscape, and immersion into the character's subjective space, I aim to create films rooted in compassion, that bring up more questions than answers.
Still from Erin Semine Kökdil short's documentary Since you arrived, my heart stopped belonging to me (2021)
Bio