Emir Roda Alır

Film

Song of Earth

Short Animation Film

2025

An animated short film in progress. Hand-drawn in ink on paper. Estimated length seven minutes.

On a rock floating in the void, the Gorgon people listen to the earth and live in a rhythm of their own. When a young Gorgon hears sounds from a distant, restless world, his curiosity pulls both civilizations into a collision that only his own voice can end.

Supported by the Animation Film Grant of the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

@songofearthfilm

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In the Threads of Time (Zamanın İpliklerinde)

Short Animation

2015

An early short animation made through Canlandıranlar Talent Camp. Produced by Berat İlk. Mentored by Cemal Erez, a key figure in Turkish independent animation, and Nelson Shin, Korean-American animator and former president of ASIFA International, who also supported the film with a personal grant. Later screened on MUBI Turkey's Canlandıranlar selection and at SİNEMATEK Türkiye.

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Illustration

The View Expands as I Learn to Listen

Illustration Series · Shortlisted

2025

A series of ink drawings inspired by the Dengbêj tradition — an oral practice of singing and storytelling carried from town to town. The dengbêj gathers stories along the way and weaves them into songs sung without instruments, drawing intricate patterns with a needle-like voice echoing in space. The series listens to the city in the same way: walking, gathering, tracing patterns and connections — with ink instead of voice. Shortlisted for the Hii Illustration Awards, 2025. A piece from the series was also shown at Pictoplasma Balkans On the Road.

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Pictoplasma Selection

Illustration · On the Road Exhibition

2025

A selection of works included in Characters on the Road, the 2025 exhibition of Pictoplasma x Balkans in Varna. Curated around the theme of travelling characters, the exhibition gathered illustrators, animators and character creators from across Europe. The selection includes a piece from The View Expands as I Learn to Listen alongside other character drawings.

Werkman Print Series

Workshop · Original Print

2019 · Groningen

A series produced during an internship at GRID Grafisch Museum in Groningen. The work experiments with the printing techniques of Hendrik Werkman, the Groningen typographer and printer who turned the press into an instrument of improvisation, through overprint, stencil and chance, treating the surface itself as part of the composition.

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Urbild, Abbild und Wesen im Garten

Asıl, Suret ve Bahçedekiler · Illustration

2017 · Germany

Illustrations made for the poetry book Urbild, Abbild und Wesen im Garten.

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Poster Series

Graphic Design · Poster

2019 — 2025

Posters designed for music festivals, film festivals and theatre productions — including the 36th International Ankara Music Festival Poster Competition Exhibition and Wortel Dagen Theatre Festival.

29. Ankara Uluslararası Film Festivali Poster

Minerva Open Day Mural

Ink on Wall · Exhibition

2019 · Groningen

A large-scale ink drawing made on the wall of Minerva Academy during the Open Day exhibition. Drawn directly in ink without sketching.

Emir Roda Alır (b. 1998, Ankara) is an illustrator and animator based in Istanbul. He works in ink, print and hand-drawn animation.

His first animated short, In the Threads of Time, was made at fifteen through the Canlandıranlar Talent Camp and has been streaming on MUBI Turkey since 2022. He studied Graphic Design at Bilkent University and spent an exchange semester at Minerva Academy in Groningen, after which he interned at GRID Grafisch Museum. His illustrations have been exhibited at Pictoplasma Balkans and MARUF Urban Forum, and were shortlisted for the Hiii Illustration Awards in 2025.

His animated short Song of Earth is currently in production with the support of the Animation Film Grant of the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

He is pursuing a doctoral degree in arts at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.

emirroda@gmail.comEmail @emirrodaIllustration @songofearthfilmFilm