Latvia's 'Flow' wins Animated Feature Oscar, marking the country’s first Academy Award

The Oscars, the last major film awards ceremony of the season, were dominated by Anora, which swept the board by winning five awards, however, it was also a huge night for Latvia with the Baltic nation scooping its first Academy Award for animated feature Flow.

Flow is a animated fantasy adventure, created using the free and open-source software Blender, and notable for its lack of dialogue. The film tells the story of a black cat, dog, capybara, ring-tailed lemur, and secretary bird journeying through a surreal, dream-like landscape to survive a catastrophic flood. Its lack of dialogue lets the music, movement, and animation speak volumes.

“I think you can express a lot more without words. Some of these emotions and ideas I couldn’t articulate with words but with music, sound, movement and editing, I can say a lot more,” Zilbalodis said backstage. 

Flow, which debuted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section, has already garnered critical acclaim, winning  in the Best Motion Picture – Animated category at the Golden Globes and picking up several awards at European film festivals, including the Best Animated Film at the European Film Awards. 

The film triumphed over another atmospheric tale, The Wild Robot, as well as Disney’s highest-grossing film of last year, Inside Out 2, along with Claymation favourites Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Memoir of a Snail.

On receiving the award, Zilbalodis thanked his parents, pets, and said he was “moved” by the film's warm reception – particularly given that its win represents such a milestone for Latvia.

“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,” he said, noting that he hoped Flow’s success would “open a lot of doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world”.

The success of the film is shared with producers Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman. The Latvian, French and Belgian co-production was also nominated for best international feature film, where it lost out to Brazil’s entry I’m Still Here.

Prime Minister Evika Siliņa was among the Latvian famous figures celebrating Flow’s win, expressing delight on X that “the cat continues to capture the hearts of people worldwide!”

Conan O’Brien, presenting the award to Flow, jokingly noted, “Ball’s in your court, Estonia.” 

Get the full lowdown on the Oscar winners and viral highlights here.