Discover Gints Zilbalodis’ ‘Flow’: A Captivating Animated Journey of Self-Discovery and Teamwork

Gints Zilbalodis is an award-winning filmmaker from Latvia. His latest project, Flow, is his first collaboration after making three short films and one feature alone. Flow is also Latvia’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The animated film tells the story of a cat learning the importance of teamwork in a water-filled universe without humans.

Zilbalodis finds the story personal. He chose a cat as the main character because cats are independent and prefer to do things alone. He struggled with self-doubt at the start. He believes that working with a team improves the quality of his films.

Flow features a cat who wakes up in a water-invaded universe. He finds other animals—a secretary bird, capybara, Labrador retriever, and ring-tailed lemur—on a boat but faces challenges in getting along with them. The cat grows from being solitary to learning cooperation, while the dog evolves from needing guidance to independence.

The film won three awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the Grand Prize for Feature Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Its animation blends realism with painterly styles, creating a visually stunning experience. Zilbalodis aimed to build an immersive world, emphasizing textures and movement.

Instead of storyboarding, Zilbalodis developed characters and environments in 3D, allowing for a more exploratory animation process. He used references from animal movement videos but relied on hand animation, avoiding motion capture.

Zilbalodis’s story features symbolism and leaves scenes open to interpretation. He believes that viewers should find their own meanings in the film. He encourages filmmakers to tell personal stories drawn from their own experiences.

The director plans to work on new projects, increasing his budget and incorporating dialogue for the first time. Zilbalodis wants to challenge himself and continue creating inspiring narratives.