Full Film -Ale y Yose

Two undocumented friends struggle with the reality of an unknown future, reimagining what it means to be a teenage girl in the U.S.

Director Biography - Erin Kokdil

Erin Semine Kökdil is a storyteller interested in building solidarity and inciting social change through film. Her work deals with issues of trauma, marginalization, and migration and has screened at IDFA, Hot Docs, and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, she worked extensively with non-profits and community-led initiatives in the U.S. and Guatemala. She holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies and Spanish from Smith College and an M.F.A. in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University.

Director Statement

As a filmmaker, I am interested in how I can create and leverage film to build solidarity and incite social change. Each of my past films incorporated a level of collaboration with my subject, something that is extremely important to my work. In setting out to share this story, I wanted to ensure that Ale and Yose had agency over their image and the way they were depicted. In doing so, I gave both girls video cameras and instructed them to film what they find most important and interesting in their own lives. At a time where undocumented immigrants, the Latino community, and “dreamers” are under attack, "Ale y Yose" offers an intimate glimpse into the lives and perspectives of two girls at the forefront of these intersecting issues. Undocumented yet unafraid, Ale and Yose both fit and break the mold of a US teenager.