Opening 6 Mar 2025
Directed by:
Gints Zilbalodis
Writing credits:
Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens
At first it looks like paradise; a black cat encounters a pack of dogs fighting over fish. As the cat tries to steal the fish, it finds that the peaceful landscape is quickly changing into a dangerous place to be as the climate changes and the land masses slowly disappear. Before long the cat that usually is solitary, finds that it must rely on a group of exotic animals in order to survive. Animals like a capybara, a secretary bird, and a ring-tailed lemur are all thrown together and have to problem-solve despite their differences. The animation is mysterious and mystical. It is a perfect universal film with an important climate change message since there is no language in this film; therefore, anyone from anywhere in the world can watch it.
Gints Zilbalodis, a Latvian director, composer, animator, and writer began his career with several short films but soon left his mark with his debut film Away (2019). Flow is his second feature animation and was shown at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. This film differs from Zilbalodis’s previous films since he collaborated with two other production companies from France and Belgium. This film has been seen at many festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards including Best Motion Picture, Animated at the eighty-second Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This truly was my favorite film in 2024. It is not only beautifully animated, but it also has an important message about the world in which we live in. (Shelly Schoeneshoefer)
