LETTERS FROM SILIVRI

Osman Kavala, a leading figure in Turkey’s civil society, has been in custody in the largest high-security prison in Europe in Silivri since November 1, 2017. Prosecutors accused Kavala of organizing the “Gezi protests“ in Istanbul. A verdict was only delivered on the 18 February 2020, when he was acquitted. But on the same day, the chief prosecutor of Istanbul demanded the continued detention in which he was accused of an involvement in the attempted coup d‘état in 2016. If convicted, Osman Kavala faces life imprisonment without parole.

LETTERS FROM SILIVRI draws on letters of Osman Kavala to document a timeline of his imprisonment. By separating voice and image the film intends to create an echo chamber that allows audiences to listen more carefully to Kavalas letters, while at the same time place his words in context to a civil society.

Adrian Figueroa
Adrian Figueroa
photos © Graz Diez
  • Genre
    Experimental Documentary
  • CATEGORY
    Short
  • YEAR OF PRODUCTION
    2020
  • DIRECTOR
    Adrian Figueroa
  • SCREENPLAY
    Adrian Figueroa, Tunçay Kulaoğlu
  • CINEMATOGRAPHY
    Meryem Yavuz
  • CAST
    Mustafa Avkıran
  • PRODUCER
    Çiğdem Mater
  • CO-PRODUCER
    Adrian Figueroa
  • PRODUCTION COMPANY
    RET FILM
  • RUNTIME
    15 min
  • LANGUAGE
    Turkish, English
  • FESTIVALS
    International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2020, ACHTUNG BERLIN – New Berlin Film Award 2020, Kasseler Dokfest 2020, Stuttgarter Filmwinter 2021, Clermont-Ferrand ISFF 2021
  • AWARDS
    Clermont- Ferrand ISFF – Connexion Award & Student Prize 2021, SIYAD AWARD (Turkish Film Critics Association) 2021
  • SALES
    Adrian Figueroa
    adrianfigueroa4@gmail.com