– **Flow by Gints Zilbalodis** is the cat’s meow in this year’s Academy Awards, winning **Best Animated Feature Film** — sorry, old glamour puss, Flow is the new king in town!
– This is **Zilbalodis’ second feature film**, astonishing since it’s just his second at-bat. His first pitch, _Away_, made quite the positive ‘swing’ with critics when it debuted in 2019.
– Speaking of _Away_, don’t forget it scooped the rather swish-sounding **Contrechamp Award** at…drumroll, please…some little-known celebration called **Annecy International**. Just kidding. Annecy’s the big league for animation, folks!
Flow Shines in the Oscar Spotlight
Zilbalodis’ Sophomore Success Proves to Be the Cat’s Pajamas
Confidence Rises in the Animation Industry As Zilbalodis Scores Big
Well, who knew cats could swim, let alone create such waves in the animation pond? This is no game of cat and mouse, folks, Zilbalodis has just roared like a lion with his Trailblazer-‘cat’-tivity. Now, I’m not saying we should go all ‘copy-cat’ on him; after all, we can’t all be a Gints Zilbalodis. But hey, if we could bring even an ounce of that creativity to our own art, we might just have a shot at being the next big “cat-ch”. On that note, grab your canvas, your sketchbook, or your animation software, and sail away on the Flow! By the way, did anyone else feel a sudden urge to adopt a cat after the Oscars ceremony? No? Just me then. Alrighty.
In the glitz and glam of the Academy Awards, the masterstroke Flow by Gints Zilbalodis, stole the show by claiming the award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Flow
Following his successful debut film Away, Zilbalodis presented Flow, receiving accolades such as the Jury Award, Audience Award for a Feature Film at Annecy 2024, and victories at the Ottawa and Manchester Animation Festival. In a tradition born upon his Golden Globe win, Zilbalodis celebrated with an Instagram post at In and Out Burger, paying homage to Paul Giamati.
In the Shadow of the Cypress by Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi, an animated feature without dialogue, scored the Best Animated Short Film Award. This short hailing from Iran, portraying an intense father-daughter relationship, overcame numerous obstacles before its completion. Our interview with the directors can be found here
In the Shadow of the Cypress © Barfak Studio
Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two directed by Denis Villeneuve bagged the award for Best Visual Effects.
While it’s quite common for films like Flow to be a hit at film festivals, the Hollywood award circuit usually leans towards larger blockbuster hits. Yet, this small Latvian team, working on a silent film with free software, triumphing over large studios and previous Oscar winners indicates a significant change in trends and sparks hope for a future where animation receives more recognition. Flow, albeit a movie about a cat, has demonstrated that the 97th Academy Awards was truly the year of the underdog.
We will be releasing our interview with Flow director Gints Zilbalodis concurrently with the UK cinema release of the feature film on 21st March 2025.
Original article: https://www.skwigly.co.uk/flow-by-gints-zilbalodis-wins-the-oscar/