Representing Latvia at the 2025 Academy Awards, Gintz Zilbalodis’ critically acclaimed animated film ‘Flow’ follows the story of a cat forming an unlikely friendship with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog after their home got destroyed in a great flood.
‘Flow’ had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and has won three awards at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The film was also recently screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
Release Date
Directed by Gintz Zilbalodis, ‘Flow’ opens in select US theaters on November 22, 2024.
Synopsis
A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.
“The music is very important in this film. I avoided using a theme score, opting instead to edit the film with music already in place, We recorded with a full orchestra, which was a great emotion for me.” Said Zilbalodis on the film’s use of music in an interview with Fred Film Radio. “Some scenes are without music, where sound design plays a crucial role in immersing the audience into the world of ‘Flow.”
Reviews
Christian Blauvelt in an IndieWire review gave the film an ‘A’ score, writing, “It’s not just a supreme example of a movie kids will love that adults will too. With its wordlessness, this is a film that could play in any country of the world, its capacity to reach literally everyone limitless.”
David Rooney in a Hollywood Reporter review also praised the film, writing, “This is a wonderful film for children, its example of the give and take of friendship and the importance of mutual trust embedded organically in the narrative with clarity but without over-emphasis.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Flow.