‘Flow’ Director Gints Zilbalodis Hopes Latvia’s Animated Feature Oscar Win Inspires “Independent Animation Filmmakers Around The World”

deadline.com:

After a tense Oscar race in the Best Animated Feature category, Flow pulled ahead for the win at Sunday night’s ceremony. With their win, Flow beat out Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and The Wild Robot.

Flow follows a cat, whose solitary lifestyle changes once their home is devastated by a great flood. The cat must learn to overcome their fear of both water and others to survive, finding safety with a group of animals from different species.

Unsurprisingly, among the first in the list of thank you from director Gints Zilbalodis was to his cats and dogs before moving on to what the Oscar means for him and fellow winners Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman. “I’m moved by the warm reception our win has had and I hope that it will open a lot of doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world,” he says.

Not only is this the first Oscar for Zilbalodis, but tonight Flow made history as the first Latvian film to win an Oscar. “This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated so it truly means a lot for us,” he says. “We are very inspired and we hope to be back soon.