Love animation? Let me introduce you to Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis

You probably haven’t heard of many Latvian films despite it having one of the most vibrant cinematic traditions out there. Just like the Philippines, none of its Oscar bets have been nominated ever since it started submitting entries following the restoration of their independence from the Soviet Union in 1992 (we first submitted “Genghis Khan” by the Bicolano director Manuel Conde in 1952).

But in the following days, you might be hearing more about this animated film called “Flow” (Latvian title: “Straume”) about a black cat’s journey after a great flood. It first premiered in Cannes last May, and will have its French debut by the end of October this year. It is also Latvia’s entry for the upcoming Oscars.

The man behind it? The 30-year-old filmmaker who made an entire animated film on his own.

Gints Zilbalodis has already won at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival for his film “Away,” which he wrote, edited, directed, scored, and produced on his own. At the time, he was 25 years old.

To make up for the lack of dialogue, Zilbalodis uses camera movements to tell the story that he wants to tell.

Zilbalodis describes “Away” as a fantasy roadtrip about a boy who lost his way and is being chased by a dark spirit. This theme of being stranded in a desert seems to be a common theme in his films because he also had a short film titled “Priorities” about a young man who crashed on an island with his dog.

Priorities from Gints Zilbalodis on Vimeo.

You will see his humility in his interviews. All of Zilbalodis’ films don’t have dialogue. He was very honest in one of his interviews that this was not an artistic decision but rather due to the fact that he could not come up with dialogues that did not feel forced.

“Maybe in the future, I’d like to work maybe with some other writer who could help me with that, but I really—this was the only way I could do it,” he said.

Interestingly, he cited his influences as live action directors Alfonso Cuaron especially his long takes, Paul Thomas Anderson’s earlier films, and films by Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitckcock. His greatest animation inspiration is the Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. The main character in “Flow” is probably inspired by Jiji, the black cat in Miyazaki’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”

The inspiration for the film “Flow” is a bit of an older animation that Zilbalodis made. In 2012, he finished the 7-minute short “Aqua,” which is about a cat that had a fear of water.

Reviews for “Flow” have been positive, but the animation has for some is “dated,” but you do have to forgive it as a film that only had one animator all throughout.

It probably won’t be screened in Philippine cinemas unless it gets nominated in the Oscars, so my fingers are crossed. We’ll probably see more of Zilbalodis in the comings years or decades. Few directors prioritize artistry over the commercial aspect of their films, and I, for one, am excited to see more of his work.

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