'Flow' Wins Best European Animated Feature at the European Film Awards
The cat and its friends did it. The brave 'Flow' by the Latvian Gints Zilbalodis (Away) and produced by Written by: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža Matīss Kaža, Gints Zilbalodis, Ron Dyens, Gregory Zalcman (a Latvian-French-Belgian co-production) took away the trophy for Best Animation Feature at the 2024 European Film Awards. The no-dialogue story of stray animals who wonder around for survival in a post-flooded world devoid of people won over the European Film Awards voters -the film is also a strong candidate for the upcoming Academy Awards.
Like my main character, my natural inclination is to work alone so that I can control all aspects of my film. By sailing between these magnificent islands and underwater cities, by following the outcome of the conflicts that arise between the characters, but also the personal evolution of each single one, 'Flow' is a film that I hope will be touching and profound with regard to our human condition - Gints Zilbalodis.
The other nominees:
LIVING LARGE directed by Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia)
SAVAGES directed by Claude Barras (Switzerland, France, Belgium)
SULTANA’S DREAM directed by Isabel Herguera (Spain, Germany, India)
THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal (Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru)
In his acceptance speech, Zilbalodis told that Europe is the only place where the film could have been made, because European films can tackle personal stories -and 'we shouldn't take this for granted'.
'Flow' has been submitted as Lativa's entry for International Feature Film in the upcoming 2025 Academy Awards; the film is also eligible in its Animation Feature category.
The 37th European Film Awards took place in Lucerne, Switzerland (7 December 2024).
