After earning a journalism degree from the University of Tehran, Nassim Abdi came to the United States in 2003 to begin graduate school. Abdi came to the U.S. after the Iran-Iraq War, a conflict which took the life of a loved one due to the use of chemical weapons.
While teaching a class on transnational feminism, Abdi noticed that her students weren’t as engaged as she’d hoped for when she told them about her experience. But she soon discovered a secret to keeping students off their phones and into the curriculum—discussing films with the documentarians who made them.
After several years of working at universities, nonprofits and social enterprises, the WiSTEM alumna and her two co-founders, Babak Shahmansouri and Erfan Abdi, created Docademia, a Chicago-based platform that connects universities with documentary films and the filmmakers who produce them. The platform, which aims to highlight the work of filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds, provides curriculum for professors to use for each film, and compensates the filmmakers for the use of their films.
“People in this generation, they understand something better when it’s visual... and that disconnect was something that I really started thinking about like, ‘What can I do? What would be the best way to get their attention?’” Abdi said.
Since its founding, six universities have purchased Docademia film and curriculum packages. Bowling Green State University’s Master’s in Cross-Cultural and International Education (MACIE) program partnered with Docademia to allow MACIE students to work as Docademia interns, and the platform’s films have been shown during campus events, according to a Bowling Green State University spokesperson.
From now until July 1, the startup is hosting its third annual short documentary contest international film contest, for which the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive cash prizes of $700, $300, $150, respectively. The reception for the previous year’s winner will be hosted Aug. 9 at 1871.
This year’s contest seeks short films on the theme of guns, a relevant theme not only due to recent mass shootings in the U.S. but also the impact of firearms on communities abroad, Abdi said. So far, the startup has received more than 270 films from more than 25 countries.
For now, professors can access the films on the platform for free, but students and members of the public must buy a membership plan to access the films on the platform and—if there’s enough interest—schedule a Q&A with the filmmaker. The company’s main focus is universities but the subscription plans arose out of a growing interest from students and individuals interested in the platform, too, she added.
Using the platform, university libraries can purchase the curriculum packages, which include the films and related coursework. The filmmakers agree to license their films for two years and earn a portion of the proceeds.
In the future, Abdi foresees the platform becoming an interactive resource for learning humanities concepts outside of higher education, much like online courses for STEM subjects or how TED talks have spread beyond the TED stage.
“Our goal is to support filmmakers from marginalized communities,” Abdi said. “We need a cure for the disconnection in our world today...And if we hear each others’ stories and we really listen to each others’ stories, we can connect again.”
