On Saturday, December 7, the European Film Academy Awards ceremony took place in Lucerne, Switzerland, where Latvia was represented by Gints Zilbalodis animated film "Flow", which was nominated in two categories – for the best European animated film of the year and the European Film of the Year award. “Flow” won In the "Best Animated Feature Feature" category.
The European Film Academy (EFA) Award is the most well-known and prestigious European Film Award, its winners are determined by the vote of the members of the European Film Academy. So far, the Latvian film has won the EFA Award only once – 34 years ago, when the The Crossroad / Šķērsiela (1988) by Ivars Selecksis was recognized as Europe's best documentary in 1990.
To represent the “Flow” at the European Film Academy Awards, the film's director Gints Zilbalodis, composer Rihards Zaļupe and producer Matīss Kaža attended to the ceremony, and the film's co-producer Ron Dyens from Sacrebleu Productions (France) also joined.
The European Film Academy ceremony concluded a crucial week for the film in the competition for the U.S. Oscars, winning several significant awards and nominations in the US professional film environment as well. Earlier in the week, “Flow’” received the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle award as the best animated film of the year. Also this week, the film was nominated for the U.S.'s prestigious Worldwide Independent Film Awards at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in the Best International Film category and won the National Board of Review award as the best animated film of the year.
The range of awards is also complemented by recognition from the world's best-known newspapers – “Flow” was placed in the top ten best films of the year by Time magazine, calling it a "nameless miracle from Latvia", the film is also mentioned in the lists of the most important films of the year made by the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. The Associated Press calls the film "the best animated film of the year." Along with a wide-ranging screening in U.S. cinemas from December 6, this weekend's film has also earned dazzling reviews in The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and other major U.S. newspapers.
The following important dates in the film's Stream competition for the U.S. Academy Awards are first December 17, when the "short lists/shortlists" of Oscar nominees will be announced, the list of Oscar nominees will be announced on January 17, and the U.S. Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for March 2. These dates are worth remembering, as Gints Zilbalodis film is now increasingly appearing on the "Oscar predictions" lists compiled by various professional publications as one of the reliable contenders for nominations and even an award.
“Flow” is financially supported by the National Film Centre of Latvia, the State Culture Capital Foundation, Eurimages, the French National Film Centre, television Arte and Canal+, as well as various regional funds and support programmes in France and Belgium. The film was created as a co-production of three countries - Dreamwell Studio studios (Latvia), Sacrebleu Productions (France) and Take Five (Belgium).