FINALIST November 18 - December 3, 2023 THE GOLDEN GIRLS OF ETRİM Etrim’in Altın Kızları Doc. / 16 min. / 2022 / with English subtitles DIRECTOR Eren Aybars Arpacık PRODUCERS Eren Aybars Arpacık, Ali Tamer Yarar SCREENWRITER/ CINEMATOGRAPHER / EDITOR Eren Aybars Arpacık Women living in Etrim Village of Bodrum have been weaving carpets for generations. Grandma Gülsüm, 87, is connected to life with the carpet that she has woven while her 65-year-old daughter Ümmühan carries the burden of the house but she gets rid of all her troubles when she takes over the carpet bench. Ümmühan's Daughter Belgin, 32, takes care of her three daughters and she teaches her daughters how to weave carpets. These three women are closely tied together like the carpets that they weave. Selected Festivals and Awards AFSAD Short Film Festival (2022): Merter Oral Special Award Meihodo International Youth and Visual Media Festival, Japan (2022): Bronze Prize İzmir International Film Festival (2022) Cannes Film Awards, France (2022) Lift Off Global Network, UK (2022) Kino Festival "Light of the World", Russia (2022) Eren Aybars ARPACIK Eren Aybars Arpacık was born in Istanbul in July 1983. He graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Media and Communication Systems in 2006 with a minor in Film and TV. After graduation, he worked as an assistant director in Interfilm Istanbul and post-production manager in Soda Film. He produced and directed a documentary series called Hayat Var for Skytürk TV (2009), Yolda travel program series of 27 episodes in 25 countries for BeinIz (2011), TV and internet commercials for brands such as Unilever, Ülker and Dagi (2016). ​ In 2017, he started to work as a director of photography and director in Şarküteri Production and directed Kurtuluş Rotası and Her Dem Banyo for Beinİz TV. During this period, he produced and directed 6-episode cave exploration documentary series called Yeraltından Notlar with Anatolian Speleology Group. In 2018, he directed docu-drama called Savaşın Efsaneleri for TRT Belgesel. ​In 2019, he directed a special episode of Ayrıcalıklı Rotalar for HSBC with the host of travel guide Saffet Emre Tonguç. In the same year he also took part as a cinematographer and an editor in Bakliyat Atlası which is a production of Coşkun Aral. In 2021, he founded Kuzgun Production in Bodrum and also produced and directed the documentary series Hayat Var for Habitat TV.  Starting from 2021, he started producing regular content for CGTN (Chinese Global Television Network). Also organized short film workshops at Artedemy Art Workshop in Bodrum. In 2022, he took part as a cinematographer of the documentary Royal Tour Tanzania and Hidden Aegea" produced by Peter Greenberg for the American PBS television, Amazon Prime and AppleTV+. He is currently producing and directing the promotional film of HT Fellow Enerji A.Ş. His interests are are mythology, strategy games, archeology, cinema, Renaissance, art, astronomy and photography.