The Baltic state of Latvia has chosen Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow as the country’s official entry in the International Feature Film category of the 97th Academy Awards. The decision was made by the Latvian Selection Committee, a commission of film industry experts appointed by the country’s National Film Center.
The dialogue-free computer graphics film, which premiered as part of the “Un Certain Regard” series at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, was a huge success in Annecy in June, receiving more awards than any other title in this year’s competition: the Jury Prize for Feature Films, the Audience Award, the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution and the award for Best Original Music for a Feature Film.
The $4.1 million Belgian-French-Latvian co-production has also been acquired for North American distribution by Sideshow and Janus Films, who plan a theatrical release later this year. Next month, the film will screen at both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
The animation was produced by Sacrebleu Productions (France) and Take Five (Belgium), while Zilbalodis produced at his own Latvian studio, Dream Well Studio.
The film is about a cat whose home is destroyed by a flood:
They join forces with a capybara, a lemur, a bird and a dog to pilot a boat in search of dry land, relying on faith, courage and wits to survive the dangers of a new water planet. From the boundless imagination of award-winning Gints Zilbalodis (Away) creates an exciting animation spectacle and at the same time a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community.
Flow is the second time that Latvia has selected an animated film for the international category of the Academy Awards; the first was in 2014, when it selected Signe Baumane’s Stones in my pockets.
Zilbalodis’ film can still compete in the animated film category. There is a current precedent for animated films competing in multiple categories. In 2022, the Danish feature film Flee was nominated in three categories: animated film, international feature film and documentary.
Last year, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs joined the Oscar race by offering support for Baumane’s second feature film. My love affair with marriagewhich competed in the animation film category. Ultimately, the President’s support did not make a difference, but it was an indication of the growing recognition of Latvian animation films at the highest levels of government. With all the positive feedback surrounding FlowIt might therefore be worthwhile for Latvia’s president to get involved in the Oscars again this year.
