FINALIST THE VILLAGE OF BALLET DANCERS Baletler Köyü Directed by Fatih Diren Doc. | 22 min. | 2025 | with English subtitles A few individuals becoming ballet dancers from a single village might not surprise anyone. But when 13 ballet dancers emerge from the same village, that’s when it becomes truly remarkable. This documentary unveils the extraordinary story of a seemingly ordinary village in Turkey: a tale of passion rising above poverty, social prejudice, and adversity. Selected Festivals and Awards Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival, Türkiye (2025): Audience Award, FILM-YÖN Best Director Award Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival, Safranbolu, Türkiye (2025): National Best Short Documentary Art Film Awards, Skopje, North Macedonia (2025): Best Short Documentary MOD Fest Podgorica - Minority Open Days, Montenegro (2025): Best Film Düzce Konuralp Film Festival, Türkiye (2025): Second Prize in Documentary Category International Turan Film Festival, Izmir, Türkiye (2025): Best Documentary Digital Details Culture Arts Documentary Film Festival, Istanbul, Türkiye (2025): Best Editing Greece International Film Festival, Athens (2025): Honorable Mention Fatih DİREN Fatih Diren (Çorum, 1984) completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Çorum. He studied for his undergraduate degree at the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema in the Faculty of Communication of Mersin University between 2004-2009. In 2008, he attended a six-month student exchange program through Erasmus at the North Karelia University of Applied Sciences in Finland. During this time, he began working on national projects to specialize in the field of sound, gaining experience as a sound operator and boom operator on numerous cinema, TV series, and advertising projects. After taking a break from the sector, he received his Master's degree from the Department of Cinema and Television at Ordu University. Subsequently, he completed his PhD in the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema at Istanbul University. He currently works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema at the Faculty of Communication of Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2025 6:30 p.m. Goethe-Institut Boston 170 Beacon Street GET YOUR DAILY PASS With the Daily Pass you can watch any or all the films screened on this day.