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During the 2019 Annecy Festival, Gints Zilbalodis surprised the audience with Away, an animated film he made entirely on his own. Its contemplative stance and unconventional artistic approach made this project stand out.
A few years later, he returns with Flow, a new animated feature that was featured at the Cannes Festival in the Un Certain Regard selection. It will also be competing in June at the Annecy Festival. We have already seen the effects of this spotlight: the behind-the-scenes conference on the film that we recorded at the end of 2023, visible below, saw a significant increase in views in May.
Unlike Gints Zilbalodis’s first project, Flow is a collective work, co-produced by Dream Well Studio, Take Five, and Sacrebleu Productions. The latter two studios handled most of the animation.
However, the director remains true to his artistic vision: no dialogue, a contemplative approach, and a focus on nature. The camera invites us to follow the journey of the central character:
The world seems to be coming to an end, teeming with the vestiges of a human presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as his home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical overflowed landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.
“Flow” will have multiple screenings during the Annecy Festival, and a signing session is also planned.
While waiting for the Annecy Festival, we invite you to watch a clip from the film.
Also, here is the conference given (in French) at RADI-RAF by Léo Silly-Pélissier, Animation Director at Sacrebleu Productions. He discusses the technical and artistic behind-the-scenes of Flow, the working methods, and the making of a scene from the film. The conference is in French, but the automated subtitles should provide you a good idea of what is being said.
00:00 – Introduction
02:10 – Présentation of Léo Silly-Pélissier
03:47 – Who am I?
05:42 – The project: Gints, Sacrebleu, preparation
23:50 – Making a scene, step by step
31:02 – Conclusion
