Director Gints Zilbalodis on how ‘Flow' is flooding awards season and making Latvia proud
Last month, Flow received two Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature, which filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis now calls 'a nice surprise.' To 'relieve [his] stress' that morning when the noms were being announcement live, 'it helped to pet [his] dog,' he recalls with a smile.
The Latvian movie contains no dialogue as it follows the journey of a small black cat who becomes displaced from its home after an end-of-days-type flood. The feline doesn't have an official name, though Zilbalodis enjoys that some fans have started calling it 'Flow.' Along the way, the cat learns to work together with a quirky group of strangers (a Labrador Retriever, a capybara, a secretarybird, and a ring-tailed lemur) in order to survive the elements. Flow recently won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and two Annie Awards for Best Independent Feature and Best Writing.
More from GoldDerby
How Oscar-nominated 'Conclave' editor Nick Emerson set up the film's twist ending
'Porcelain War' directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev on their inspiring story of art and resistance in Ukraine
First look at Zendaya in 'Euphoria' Season 3, Oscar mystery cleared up, Kendrick cashes in Super Bowl show, and more of today's top stories
In his home country, 'Everyone is following every single bit of news that comes out of this awards season,' Zilbalodis states proudly (watch our exclusive video interview above). 'Everything ends up on the front page of the biggest newspapers. I brought the Globe back home, and the National Museum of Art in Latvia wanted to exhibit it, so of course we agreed. They put it in this central entrance of the museum, and it was guarded by these two cat statues, which fits the theme of the film. There were so many people coming to see the Golden Globe, they were waiting for an hour in line to see it.'
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
SEE2025 Annie Awards winners
Flow is the first film that Zilbalodis has worked on with a team, so how did that change his personal style of filmmaking? 'When I'm working alone, I don't need to explain anything to anyone. I can just make it,' he says. 'This time, when I was working with a team, I needed to articulate my thoughts. And these ideas could be challenged or questioned, and that can be healthy for filmmaking.' However, he concedes, 'That can also go too far. I think there's a danger of over-explaining everything and losing the things that make it interesting and unique. So, there were certain moments where I had to ask the team to trust me.'
Fans often approach Zilbalodis and ask him to 'explain certain scenes,' particularly when it comes to the flood and the absence of humans. But he rather enjoys the mystery of it all. 'I kind of want to leave those questions up to interpretation,' he confesses. 'If I had explained these things, then no one would be talking about this. It's exciting to have discussions like that. I'm really more guided by emotion and experience, rather than logic. I want to create a sense of conveying that the cat is sad … and then I built an entire world to express this feeling.'
The filmmaker used the open-source software Blender to create Flow, which he explains, 'Any kid can pick up and now has the access to tools that these big feature films' are utilizing. 'It's free, and there are resources online. We just learned from watching YouTube videos. This already has been a very exciting change for more and more independent films. We can make these films with a smaller budget. These tools are not a compromise in any way. It's just as good, or even better, than some of the very expensive tools out there.'
Also in our exclusive video interview, Zilbalodis talks about some of his biggest inspirations in the film industry, including Hayao Miyazaki, Alfonso Cuarón, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, and Akira Kurosawa, how he cowrote the score without ever 'studying music,' and how Conan O'Brien is the 'perfect person' to host the 97th Academy Awards. Plus, he teases what he can about his next project, which he's working on whenever he has a free moment during awards season.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions
Best of GoldDerby
How Oscar-nominated 'Conclave' editor Nick Emerson set up the film's twist ending
'Porcelain War' directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev on their inspiring story of art and resistance in Ukraine
How the Oscar-nominated 'Nosferatu' makeup and hair team, costume designer created Count Orlok and his doomed love
Click here to read the full article.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein Receives Mixed Verdict, but Found Guilty of Sexual Assault in New York Retrial
The jury in Harvey Weinstein's New York retrial reached a partial mixed verdict on Wednesday, June 11, finding the disgraced former movie mogul guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault against former 'Project Runway' assistant Miriam Haley and not guilty of a separate count of criminal sexual assault against model Kaja Sokola, per reporting in the Associated Press. The jury has yet to reach a verdict on a third charge of third-degree rape against aspiring actress Jessica Mann, and is expected to resume deliberations on Thursday. The retrial of Weinstein's criminal case in New York was prompted by an April 2024 ruling from the New York Court of Appeals that deemed 'egregious errors' were made in Weinstein's 2020 trial, in which he was found guilty of assaulting Haley and committing third-degree rape against Mann. Regardless of how the New York retrial plays out, Weinstein is still serving a 16-year prison sentence following his conviction on three counts of rape and sexual assault in his 2022 Los Angeles trial. More from IndieWire Bryce Dallas Howard Is Never 'Disappointed' by Box Office Flops: 'You Can Always See It Coming' Zoe Saldaña Says Her 'Emilia Pérez' Oscar Is 'Trans': The Statue 'Goes by They/Them' Arguments about juror safety have become a key sticking point in the re-trial. As the jury deliberated on Monday, the foreperson approached Judge Curtis Farber to discuss a private matter, per the AP. The judge later explained that the juror did not want to return to the deliberation room. 'He said words to the effect of 'I can't go back in there with the other jurors,'' the judge said, adding that the juror was being pressured to change his position by other jurors. 'He did indicate that at least one other juror made comments to the effect of 'I'll meet you outside one day,' and there's yelling and screaming.'Weinstein's lawyers saw the situation as cause to ask for a mistrial, with defense attorney Arthur Aidala saying 'I don't think the court is protecting this juror. Period.' But prosecutor Matthew Colangelo pushed back, saying that tense conversations are standard procedure during trials. 'He said he'd made up his mind, he didn't want to change it, and people were pressuring him to change it. That's what jury deliberations involve,' Colangelo said. But the trial continued, and the jury began Wednesday by re-hearing Mann's testimony about Weinstein's alleged rape in 2013. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See


Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Of Notoriety: Dunes Summer Theatre's 74th anniversary Sunday celebrated with sold-out ‘Misery'
When Dunes Summer Theatre in Michigan City reopened after its 2020 season pandemic pause for relaunch in 2021, it was a slow return to attract cautious audiences. Elise Kermani, managing director of the Dunes Arts Foundation and Steve Scott, a director emeritus from Chicago's Goodman Theater, later named Dunes Theatre artistic director in fall 2021, are sharing the same amazement this summer. They opened their 2025 stage season with a sold-out run of a newly imagined telling of Stephen King's 'Misery,' which opened May 30 and concludes with a final performance 2 p.m. Sunday, and scattered seats still available at all three remaining shows. Dunes Summer Theatre, 288 Shady Oak Drive in Michigan City, celebrated the marking of the 74th anniversary last Sunday, June 8, with standing audience ovations for this new and cleverly devised staging of 'Misery.' The run stars Chicago TV news personality Janet Davies, completely transformed as the menacing recluse nurse Annie Wilkes, opposite brilliant Kevin Giese as tortured novelist Paul Sheldon who is held captive by 'his biggest fan.' The production is directed by John Hancock, our noted filmmaker and Oscar-nominated movie director local claim-to-fame who hails from LaPorte and did the filming for his 1989 holiday classic 'Prancer' at his family's farm in LaPorte. Also in this 'Misery' cast are Jim Lampl as skeptical rural town Sheriff Buster and Emmie Reigel, the latter molded into a new character, not previously featured in the original stage work or readings of this adaptation from two decades ago in New York. Reigel is cast as the ever-looming spirit of author Sheldon's novel heroine Misery Chastain and appears in nearly all the scenes. And many times, she 'earns her oats' helping with inventive transitions for scene needs. Creative wiz Michael Lasswell has built an entire rustic cabin farmhouse set design, complete with hidden secret reveals for the audience. Davies was the TV entertainment reporter for Chicago's ABC 7 News for more than 30 years and the host of the award-winning '190 North' Chicago entertainment, dining and lifestyle TV series. A world-traveled, seasoned broadcast journalist and winner of 18 Emmy awards for producing, writing and reporting, Davies has covered the British Royal Family, reported live from the red carpets of the Oscars and the Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the American Music Awards. In February 2021, Davies left ABC-owned WLS Channel 7 after a 37-year history and now divides her time between her beloved Chicago, world travels and her home in Galien, Michigan. She is also the board chair of the tiny but mighty stage at The Acorn Theatre in quaint Three Oaks, Michigan. 'You have to remember, I started out as a theatre major in college, and communication was my secondary career study,' said Davies, who was born in Richmond, Virginia, and raised in Fairfield, Ohio, before she earned a BA from Miami University in Ohio majoring in communications and theater. When chatting with Davies on Sunday, I told her of my amazement that she could remember all of the script lines and blocking sequences for the two-hour stage epic. (I still have my own nightmares about not remembering lines on stage, and that's without working full-time in the theater industry). In her world of working in the television field, a teleprompter is nothing out of the ordinary for anchor desk reporting. 'I spent considerable time learning lines, and a great director and cast help the process,' she said. Davies' 'Misery' co-star Giese is a graduate of Portage High School and trained at Second City in Chicago. He is familiar to audiences at both Dunes Summer Theatre and Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso. I asked Davies if she already has another stage project in the works, and her only answer was a glint in her eye paired with a smile. I'm casting my own vote to see her play the mother superior nun in 'Doubt' or 'Agnes of God.' Maybe the theater gods will hear my request. Tickets for 'Misery' are $30 to $35 and available at or call 219-879-7509. Up next at Dunes Summer Theatre opening June 27 and playing until July 13 is 'Outside Mullingar,' a delicious dark company and one of my favorite stage stories by Irish playwright John Patrick Shanley and being directed by the Dunes' Michael Lasswell.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Brad Pitt Insisting Ex Angelina Jolie ‘Get a Better Grip' on Their Big Brood
Angelina Jolie's son Pax looked worse for wear during a recent night out with friends in L.A. On May 31, the 21-year-old was photographed being propped up by his pals as the rowdy crew made their way from celebrity hotspot Chateau Marmont to a strip club on Hollywood's notorious Sunset Strip, where they partied until the wee hours. At one point, Pax looked as if he could barely stand as he clung to two members of his group, wavering on a street corner. The Oscar winner's middle son is getting a rep for reckless behavior. At least twice he's crashed his e-bike while speeding along L.A.'s busy streets — without a helmet — needing to be hospitalized after a collision last July. (An insider tells Star, 'a lot of people have told him it's lunacy, that he must have some type of death wish to be so negligent.') For Angelina, it's a conundrum. 'Like any parent, she worries that Pax will fall into the wrong crowd or drink too much,' says the source. Yet the 50-year-old, a former wild child herself, has always prided herself on being a supportive but hands-off mother to Pax and his five siblings (she and ex-husband Brad Pitt share Maddox, 23, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and 16-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox). Now the source says Brad fears his ex is losing control of their big brood — revealing another bone of contention in their bitter split. 'He's insisting Angelina get a better grip,' says the source. 'But she isn't going to listen to him and his concerns.' Angelina doesn't feel like she has much of a leg to stand on when it comes to reining the kids in — she was no stranger to trouble as a young adult. In a November 2011 interview with 60 Minutes, Angelina opened up about going through 'heavy, darker times' in her life. 'Angelina used to restrict Pax when he was younger but now that he's 21, there's not much she can do,' says the source. 'Besides, she did plenty worse than he did when she was his age, so she's wary of coming across like a hypocrite.' She also brought up the children to be free spirits. They spent their formative years traveling the globe. In 2021, the Maria star — who once said she'd rather they focus on outdoor adventures than homework — revealed to E! News' Daily Pop that she was scared of parent-teacher conferences. 'I have a problem with schools because I was always in trouble in school,' she admitted. 'I have PTSD.' When it comes to Pax, there's not much Brad can do. Adopted from Vietnam, Pax spent his early years in an orphanage before Brad and Angelina brought him home in 2007. Among all of the kids, he's been the most vocal about siding with his mom in the couple's nasty, years-long divorce and custody battle. (The family unraveled after a 2016 incident on a private plane. Angelina accused a drunken Brad of attacking her; now sober, Brad has denied all allegations.) In 2020, he reportedly slammed Brad in a since-deleted Instagram post, calling him 'world class a**hole.' The source says the 61-year-old 'still loves him dearly' and believes the children 'have been given way too much freedom way too soon,' by their mom. (Until age 18, he still has legal access to the twins.) In another blow to the F1 actor, Shiloh, one of several of the kids who have dropped 'Pitt' from their name, has further altered her moniker. The teen debuted her new name, 'Shi Joli,' in a press release about a dance she choreographed for an Isabel Marant/Net-A-Porter fashion show May 29. According to the source, Shiloh 'is still trying to find herself. Growing up in the spotlight was tough on her and she found her parents' divorce traumatic.' Angelina is taking a backseat approach for now and hoping the kids find their way eventually. Zahara is off at Spelman College ('she's very keen to spread her wings and travel,' says the source) while Maddox (who Angelina described as 'smart … but also wild' in 2019) lives in Angelina's Manhattan apartment (she said in March all the children use it as a 'crash pad'). 'Angelina is happy for them all to try new things and thinks it's healthy for them to experiment. She has zero doubt they'll go on to achieve great things in their lives.'