Flow, a wordless animated film about a cat by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday. “Thank you to my cats and dogs,” Zilbalodis said after his win.
The film Flow, created using the open-source software Blender, tells the story of a black cat, a dog, a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, and a secretary bird. They are trying to survive in a world flooded by a disaster.
With no dialogue, the movie relies on visuals, music, and movement to convey emotions and relationships.
This marks the first-ever Academy Award for Latvia. “I’m really moved by the warm reception our film has had, and I hope that it will open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world,” Zilbalodis said.
“This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated, so it really means a lot to us. We are very inspired, and we hope to be back soon. We’re all in the same boat. We must overcome our differences and find ways to work together,” he added.
The Latvian, French, and Belgian co-production was also nominated for Best International Feature Film.
Away about a boy and bird
Zilbalodis’ first animated feature, Away (2019), is also a wordless film with a strong focus on visual storytelling. It follows a young boy who survives a plane crash and finds himself stranded on a mysterious island.
He befriends a small yellow bird. They travel together across surreal landscapes. During this a giant shadowy creature follow them.
Flow won against strong competition, including The Wild Robot, Pixar’s Inside Out 2, and stop-motion films Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Memoir of a Snail.
The movie had already won Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globe Awards. It also received nominations from the Critics Choice Awards, Annie Awards, and BAFTA.
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