The critically acclaimed animated feature “Flow,” which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and was selected as Latvia’s official submission for the Best International Feature Oscar, has been set for an awards-season release in the U.S. It will open in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 22 and expand nationwide in the weeks that follow via Janus Films and Sideshow.
Directed by Gints Zilbalodis, “Flow” tells the story of a courageous cat whose home is destroyed by a catastrophic flood. Joined by a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog, the cat embarks on a perilous journey by boat in search of dry land. Together, the unlikely group must rely on trust and bravery to navigate the dangers of their newly aquatic world.
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Janus Films and Sideshow are behind the Oscar-nominated “EO,” “All That Breathes” and “Drive My Car” — the latter also receiving a nod for best picture and winning international feature. “Flow” will receive a significant promotional push, and if nominated for both international feature and animated feature, it would follow in the footsteps of the acclaimed “Flee” (2021), which also secured a nomination for documentary feature. However, “Flow” isn’t the only animated film aiming to make history this year; Focus Features’ “Piece by Piece,” a Lego-style documentary on the life of Pharrell Williams, is also vying for recognition in both the doc and animation categories.
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The silent animated movie played in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in May and won four awards at the Annecy Film Festival in June: the Audience Award, Jury Award, Special Prize for Original Music, and the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. “Flow” currently boasts a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Peter Debruge, Variety’s chief film critic, calls the film “hypnotic” and “radically different from the look or feel of other toons (and yet strangely video game-like in its design).”
In addition to directing, Zilbalodis is the film’s composer with Rihards Zalupe and a co-writer with Matiss Kaza. Zilbalodis and Kaza also produce alongside Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman.
Zilbalodis made his feature debut at the age of 24 with “Away” which won the Contrechamp Prize for best feature film at Annecy and went on to play at over 85 festivals and earn a nomination at the Annie Awards. “Flow” will also be distributed in Benelux by Le Parc Distribution and UFO in France in October.
