‘FLOW‘ just won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Its victory is even more impressive given its humble beginnings and competition against big-budget animated films. This win is also historic, making it the first Latvian production to be nominated for and win an Academy Award.
Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman accepted the award for FLOW. Competing for Best Animated Feature Film were Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen), Memoir of a Snail (Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney), Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, and Richard Beek), and The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann).
FLOW was created using Blender, a free and open-source animation software. Directed by Gints Zilbalodis, who co-wrote the script with Matīss Kaža, the film has been praised for its visual storytelling, relying entirely on imagery without dialogue. It follows a cat and other animals navigating a post-human world as rising water threatens their survival. The film’s powerful narrative has resonated with audiences, earning it a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
We didn’t consider the age or gender of the animals. Hopefully, you can see your own pet in them, We animated all the animals by hand. Of course, we couldn’t put cats in motion capture suits and drop them into water. Also, cats don’t do what you ask them to do. We did look at a lot of references. We studied our own pets, and videos on YouTube, and we went to the zoo. I would describe our approach as naturalism rather than realism. The difference is that we were studying real life, not copying it. We were observing and telling a story.
Zilbalodis previously told Cartoon Brew about putting the story together.
Hinting at what’s next after FLOW’s success, the filmmaker shared,
I want to keep this independence. A smaller budget gives us more freedom to tell personal stories, experiment with techniques, and take bigger creative risks. It’s exciting to see films being made in places without a major industry, bringing fresh perspectives and unique stories. And with animation, we can reach a global audience without being tied to a specific culture.
FLOW’s Oscar win is just one of its many accolades. Earlier, it won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film, paving the way for its Academy Award victory. The film was also nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, alongside its win for Best Animated Feature Film.
Flow is streaming on Max.