Flow” is the name of an animated feature film due to be unreleased in 2024 directed by Gints Zilbalodis a filmmaker from Latvia. The plot revolves around a cat who is black and lives all by itself and it happens that this cat’s house is the only one that gets destroyed in the flood. Leaving home, this black cat finds shelter on a boat which has a yellow lab dog, a capybara, a lemur and a secretary bird onboard. The flood expands, and the animals explore stunningly beautiful, drowned places and face difficulties of teamwork and faith in one another.
Awards & Wins:
“Flow” has made a good number of wins on the international festival’s scene. The following are his achievements:
- Cannes Film Festival (2024): Debuted at Un Certain Regard section of the festival.
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival (2024): Jury Award, Audience Award, and the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution in the Feature Film category.
- Ottawa International Animation Festival (2024): The Grand Prize for Feature Animation was scooped at this festival.
Cast & Crew:
- Director: Gints Zilbalodis
- Screenplay: Gints Zilbalodis
- Music: Rihards Zaļupe
- Production Companies: Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five
IMDb Ratings:
At this time, ‘Flow’ has a rating of 8USA and approximately 3,500 people have rated the movie.
Personal Insights:
“Flow” is truly a remarkable film because it does not have any dialogues and instead uses great animal characters animated with non-human features and characteristics to further tell the story.
Blender’s software provides a digital sketch-like style. Inasmuch as some critics may decry it’s over stylization of its characters the animation strongly conveys its character’s emotional arc. Since there are no humans, and the plot deals mainly with inter species relationships, it provides a moving and realistic insight into such issues as trust, existence, and ecological destruction.
Culturally Relevant:
Animation creativity and development from Latvia “Flow” fills an important void in the international animation scene. This submission reflects both Latvia’s unique culture, and its artistic expression through the perspective’s of being the country’s nominee for the Best International Feature Oscar. The issues of the environment raised by the film are common to all people, and it makes everyone think about what people did with the nature and what could be the consequences.
In addition, for those who seek such a story in the context of animations with aesthetics, “Flow” will stand out as a unique subject with deep ideas worth watching.