Flow

Flow (2024) is a Latvian-French-Belgian animated film directed by Gints Zilbalodis, known for its bold artistic choices and complete absence of dialogue. The story centers on a solitary cat who, after a great flood submerges the world, embarks on a journey aboard a small boat with a group of other animals—including a capybara, a dog, a lemur, and a bird. As these creatures drift through the flooded remnants of civilization, they must learn to coexist, survive, and adapt despite their natural instincts and differences. The film’s narrative unfolds purely through visual storytelling and music, delivering a meditative experience on isolation, connection, and resilience in the face of catastrophe. Visually, Flow is striking for its painterly 3D animation created entirely in Blender, characterized by soft lighting, fluid camera movement, and richly atmospheric environments. The hand-crafted feel and smooth pacing give it a dreamlike quality, immersing the viewer without words. The music, composed by Rihards Zalupe and Gints Zilbalodis himself, replaces dialogue with emotion—guiding tone and narrative with precision. With a modest budget of €3.5 million, Flow became an unexpected global success, grossing over €50 million worldwide, and breaking domestic records to become the most-watched Latvian film of all time. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and gained further attention at Annecy, Toronto, and Ottawa, where it won multiple awards. Critically, the film was lauded for its quiet power and artistic integrity. It holds high ratings across international review platforms, with reviewers praising its bravery, minimalism, and emotional effectiveness. Many noted that its lack of dialogue made it universally accessible, and emphasized the realism of animal behavior over anthropomorphization. Flow won Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, defeating major studio contenders. It also took home the Golden Globe and European Film Award in the same category and received nominations for Best International Feature, making it a rare achievement for an animated, dialogue-free indie production. The film also secured wins at the Annie Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and various critics' circles. The legacy of Flow is already significant. It challenged assumptions about what animated films can be, proving that emotional depth and narrative strength can be conveyed without a single spoken word. Its commercial and critical success elevated Latvia’s presence in global cinema and inspired animators worldwide to embrace stylistic and narrative risk in a medium often dominated by formulaic storytelling.