NYKFF7 is thrilled to host Adil Demicri, a producer the film Tearing Walls Down, co-directed by  Serif Çiçek and Hebûn Polat.

Adil Demirci (b. 1985 in Istanbul) did not set out to become a film producer. He was originally a social worker and journalist living in Cologne. He has both Turkish and German citizenship.

In 2018 Demirci was employed in Cologne as a social worker and as a reporter for Etkin Haber Ajansi (ETHA), a leftist news agency. He traveled to Istanbul with his mother, to visit relatives. While there, on April 13, 2018, he was arrested, interrogated, and detained.

He was accused of being a member of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLCP), which he denies. From 2013 to 2015, he had attended the funerals of several MLCP members. Thousands of people were also present.

Demirci’s lawyer, Keles Ozturk, maintains that the prosecution lacks evidence to prove that Demirci is a member of the organization. “The indictment states that Adil Demirci participated in funerals of alleged members of MLCP But there were more than 2,000 people at these funerals. Does that mean that all those present are criminals?”

The German journalist Günter Wallraff wrote of his trial, “Neither the public prosecutor’s office nor the court ever seriously addressed the defense attorney’s statements. The public prosecutor was unable to provide documents that could prove the defendant’s guilt. Adil Demirci’s impressively calm and objective statements were rejected by the court.”

He was convicted and imprisoned, then released after 10 months. He was initially banned from leaving Turkey. After his mother’s death in June 2019 the court allowed him to travel to Germany for her funeral.

Demirci wrote a book about his 10 months in a Turkish prison: Zelle B-28: als politische Geisel in Istanbul (Cell B-28: As a Political Hostage in Istanbul).

In 2021 Adil Demirci produced the film Prison or Exile. The film documents the repression against elected politicians and the pro-Kurdish HDP in Turkey.  He went on to produce Tearing Walls Down, which will be screened at NYKFF7. 

Demirci will be present for a Q&A after the screening, with the two directors.