Having made waves across the global animation scene with his solo animated feature Away, created when he was just 24, Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis is preparing his next full-length project for the screens: Flow. Paris-based film sales & co-production co. Charades (Mirai, I Lost My Body) has acquired rights to the pic, which will be presented in the Work-in-Progress section of this month’s Annecy Festival.
After a terrible flood wreaks havoc on the world, a stubbornly independent cat is forced to share a small boat with a group of other animals. Getting along with them turns out to be an even greater challenge for him than surviving the flood.
Charades describes Flow as “allegory of the social and political situations we face in these difficult times, through the animals and their misadventures. Individualism and collectivism collide within this band.” Zilbalodis notes his latest project is a “unique and personal story.”
Zilbalodis directs and penned the film with co-writers/producers Matiss Kaza of Dream Well Studio and Ron Dyens (Barking Island) of Sacrebleu Productions. Producing studios are Sacrebleu (France), Dream Well (Latvia) and Take Five (Belgium). Currently in production, Flow is expected for delivery in the second quarter of 2024. UFO Distribution will release the pic, which is produced in association with Arte France, Canal+ and Ciné +, supported by the Latvian Film Center.
Released in 2019, Away was selected by more than 85 film festivals, winning the Contrechamp feature film prize at Annecy, the Latvian Film Prize for animated feature and a music achievement nomination at the Annie Awards. The surreal indie effort about a boy and a bird traversing a strange island to find their way home sold in 18 territories. Zilbalodis has directed seven short films, both animated and live action, including multi-Latvian Film Prize-nominated Oasis.
Away is currently available in the U.S. through VOD platforms including Tubi and Roku.
[Source: Variety]
