Cemil Ağacıkoğlu was born in İstanbul in 1959. He opened the photography exhibitions Hasırın Öyküsü” (“Story of the Wicker”) (1993), “Selene” (1995), “Bir Günde” (“In A Day”) (1997), “Hüznün Grenleri” (“Grains of Sorrow”), “Propaganda Filmi” (“Propaganda The Movie”), “Jerusalem” (1999), Aralık - Passage a Way (2000), “Kapadokya” (“Cappadocia”) (2007), and “Biz” (“Us”) (2008). “Hasırın Öyküsü”, “Bir Günde”, “Hüznün Grenleri”, “Jerusalem” and “Aralık - Passage a Way” were published as photobooks.

Ağacıkoğlu participated in many exhibitions around the world. In 1995, he was presented the Artiste FIAP (AFIAP) title by The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP). In 1996, he received the Gold Medal at the 12th International Salon of Photography held in Pakistan. In 1998, he won the third prize in the Hong Kong International Photography Competition, and the Gold Medal in the competition of the International Federation of Photographic Art. In 1999, he won the Grand Prize at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival's photography competition. The same year, he won the Gold Medal at the World Biennial of Black and White Photography held in Switzerland, curated by Mehmet Bayhan, where Turkey came first as a team for the first time. Ağacıkoğlu has also won the Gold Medal in the Pakistan National Photography Contest, the Honorary Award at the SuperCircuit contest in Austria, and was given the Excellence FIAP (EFIAP) title by the FIAP. In 2000, he won the third prize at the FIAP Biennial of Black and White Photography in Italy. In 2002, he won the Kral TV Best Music Video Director Award and the second prize at the Balkan Photography Contest. In 2003, he won the FIAP 23rd International Trofeo Gipuzkao Second Prize.

Ağacıkoğlu taught black and white photogaphy at the Cemil Ağacıkoğlu Workshop for four years, and founded 18 Design, which brought design and photography together under the same roof for the first time in Turkey. During this period, he also made music videos and designed albums for many well-known acts in Turkey. He made his first short film “I Am Ivan” in 2005; it was followed by “İp” (“The Thread”) in 2006, “It Was White” in 2007 and “Polis” in 2008. Ağacıkoğlu completed his feature film debut “Eylül” (“September”) in 2010, and his second feature “Özür Dilerim” (“Apologies”) in 2012.