‘Flow’ Wins Best Animated Feature At European Film Awards
Gints Zilbalodis’ dreamlike animated fantasy Flow, about a group of mismatched animals finding companionship on a post-apocalyptic voyage, has added another prestigious accolade to its quiver: the European Film Award (EFA) for best animated feature.
This win comes after two major wins in the U.S. this week for best animated feature from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review.
At the EFA, Flow was nominated against four other films: Kristina Dufková’s Living Large, Claude Barras’ Savages, Isabel Herguera’s Sultana’s Dream, and Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s They Shot the Piano Player. Among these films, Living Large and Sultana’s Dream are eligible for the Oscars this year, as is Flow.
In addition to its growing hopes for an animated feature nomination at the Academy Awards, Flow is also Latvia’s official submission for international feature at the Academy Awards.
The Latvia/France/Belgium co-production premiered in the Un Certain Regard sidebar of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and was a big hit at Annecy in June, picking up more awards than any other title in competition this year: the feature film jury award, audience award, Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, and best original music for a feature film. Distributed by Sideshow/Janus Films in the U.S., it expanded its footprint this weekend to around 350 theaters.
Upon winning the European Film Award, presented in Lucerne, Switzerland, on Saturday evening, the president of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs sent a message of congratulations, posted below, on social media. Rinkēvičs also got involved in last season’s Oscar campaigning by throwing his support behind another animated feature from a Latvian director, Signe Baumane’s My Love Affair with Marriage.
Congratulations to @gintszilbalodis and his colleagues for winning Best Animated Feature Film at European Film Awards. “Flow” is must see movie! So proud of our Latvian cinema team ! pic.twitter.com/vnMX5RhYuK
— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) December 7, 2024
