It has provided a kind of uplifting feeling for Latvia.
The national pride is understandable.
On Thursday,ZilbalodisFlowearned Latvia its first Academy Award nominations.
Gints Zilbalodis and ‘Flow’Getty/Everett
The film landed Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature from the American Academy.
Latvia previously made 15 Oscar submissions beforeFlowbut had never received a nomination.
Zilbalodis spoke to us shortly after landing the historic noms on Thursday.
Its just quite a lot.
It was a very nervous day.
We had to wait a long time and I couldnt get any work done.
I was just pacing around and now Im just relieved and happy.
But its been a crazy year, he said.
We finished the film just days before the premiere, Zilbalodis said.
We were still exhausted from all the work.
There was no time to reflect on things.
So when people started to react well in the cinema it was a big relief.
The budget is fairly modest.
A project like this would probably be impossible in the U.S. system, he said.
Latvia is a very small country.
We are less than 2 million people, so we all the filmmakers know each other quite well.
But even though Latvia is a small country, in terms of animation, we punch above our weight.
Were often overrepresented at festivals with animated films.
Our filmmakers are often selected and win awards.
Theres been a lot more investment in the sector sinceFlow, he said.
I think we will soon be building more studios.
After its Cannes debut,Flowwon four prizes at Frances Annecy Fest in June.
Further screenings were held at Busan and Toronto, where much of the films awards buzz was birthed.
Sideshow and Janus Films released the film in U.S. cinemas last November.
The film won the Animated Feature Golden Globe earlier this month.
Despite his international success, Zilbalodis said he has no immediate plans to leave Latvia.
I want to stay in my studio in Latvia, he said.
We have a great crew here.
I love the freedom that we have here and I want to do something very different fromFlow.
I might do more films with animals at some point.
But Im pretty sure it wont be aFlowsequel.
That project, Zilbalodis told us, will feature his first work with dialogue.
Its still a very visual film in a way that can only be done in animation.
Like withFlow, there are cinematic techniques that are very ambitious and were pushing a lot further.
The Academy Awards take place March 3.
