Flow () is a 2024 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Gints Zilbalodis, written and produced by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža. A Latvian, French and Belgian co-production, it features no dialogue and follows a cat trying to survive along with other animals in a seemingly post-apocalyptic world as the water level dramatically rises.
The film premiered on 22 May 2024 at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in a Un Certain Regard section, and was released in Latvian theaters on 29 August, followed by subsequent releases in the rest of the world until March 2025. It has grossed 50 million at the global box office. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Flow received critical acclaim, becoming the most-viewed film in Latvian theaters in history, foreign films included. Earning multiple awards, it was the first Latvian film to earn Academy Award recognition, and the first independent animated film to win Best Animated Feature. It also became the first animated film without dialogue to win in the category. It also received a Best International Feature Film nomination as Latvia's submission, becoming the second animated film to do so after Flee. Flow was the first Latvian film to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award, winning Best Animated Feature Film; the statuette was later put on display at the Latvian National Museum of Art. Additionally, Zilbalodis was honoured as "Rigan of the Year" in 2024.
Accolades
+ Award Ceremony date Category Recipient(s) Result Academy Awards 2 March 2025 Best Animated Feature Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman Best International Feature Film Latvia ACE Eddie Awards 14 March 2025 Best Edited Animated Feature Film (Theatrical or Non-Theatrical) Gints Zilbalodis Animation Is Film Festival 22 October 2024 Jury Prize Award Flow Annecy International Animation Film Festival 15 June 2024 Cristal Award for a Feature Film Gan Foundation Award for Distribution Jury Award for a Feature Film Audience Award for a Feature Film Best Original Music Award for a Feature Film Gints Zilbalodis and Rihards Zaļupe Annie Awards 8 February 2025 Best Animated Feature — Independent Flow Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production Gints Zilbalodis Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production Gints Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža Astra Film Awards 8 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Flow Best International Feature Austin Film Critics Association 6 January 2025 Best Animated Film Best International Film Bandung Film Festival 31 October 2025 Commendable Imported Film - Praiseworthy Adventure Animated Film Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 8 December 2024 Best Animated Film British Academy Film Awards 16 February 2025 Best Animated Film Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman Best Children's & Family Film Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2024 Un Certain Regard Gints Zilbalodis César Awards 28 February 2025 Best Animated Film Flow Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 11 December 2024 Best Animated Film Critics' Choice Movie Awards 7 February 2025 Best Animated Feature Best Foreign Language Film Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association 18 December 2024 Best Animated Film Dorian Awards 13 February 2025 Animated Film of the Year EDA Awards 7 January 2025 Best Animated Film Best International Film European Film Academy 29 April 2025 Lux Award European Film Awards 7 December 2024 European Film European Animated Feature Film Florida Film Critics Circle 20 December 2024 Best Animated Film Best Original Score Gints Zilbalodis and Rihards Zaļupe Golden Globe Awards 5 January 2025 Best Animated Feature Film Flow Golden Trailer Awards 29 May 2025 Best Foreign Animation/Family Curzon / Silk Factory (for "Journey") Sideshow / Mark Woollen & Associates (for "Horizon") Goya Awards 8 February 2025 Best European Film Flow Guadalajara International Film Festival 15 June 2024 Best Animated Film Independent Spirit Awards 22 February 2025 Best International Film Gints Zilbalodis International Cinephile Society Awards 9 February 2025 Best Animated Film Flow Lielais Kristaps 4 February 2025 Best Screenplay Gints Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža Best Animated Feature Film Best Editing Gints Zilbalodis Best Director - Animated Feature Best Production Design - Animated Feature Best Sound Gurwal Coïc-Gallas Best Score Rihards Zalupe and Gints Zilbalodis Audience Award Flow Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 8 December 2024 Best Animated Film Lumière Awards 20 January 2025 Best Animated Film National Board of Review Awards 4 December 2024 Best Animated Film New York Film Critics Circle Awards 3 December 2024 Best Animated Film New York Film Critics Online 16 December 2024 Best Animation Online Film Critics Society Awards 27 January 2025 Best Animated Feature Ottawa International Animation Festival 28 September 2024 Grand Prize for Feature Animation Rigan of the Year18 November 2024Gints Zilbalodis Polish Film Awards 9 March 2026 Best European Film Gints Zilbalodis San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 9 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Flow San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 15 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Satellite Awards 26 January 2025 Best Motion Picture – Animated or Mixed Media Seattle Film Critics Society Awards 16 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Best International Film Seville European Film Festival 16 November 2024 Grand Jury Award Best Editing Gints Zilbalodis Puerta América Award Flow St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 15 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 15 December 2024 Best Animated Film Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 8 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Best International Film
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