The 7th Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns this November with the best new films from the Baltic region! The festival’s grand final take place on Sunday, November 10, with the New York City premiere of Flow (dir. Gints Zilbalodis, Latvia/France/Belgium, 2024). *The screening will be followed by a film talk with producer and co-writer Mātiss Kaža.*
A wondrous journey through natural and mystical realms, the animated feature Flow (dir. Gints Zilbalodis, Latvia/France/Belgium, 2024) follows a courageous cat and a capybara, lemur, bird and dog after their homes are devastated by a great flood. Teaming up to navigate a boat in search of dry land, the animals must rely on trust, courage and wits to survive the perils of their newly aquatic planet. The Latvian contender for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, Flow is a thrilling animated spectacle and a profound meditation on environmental fragility, as well as the spirit of friendship and community. Through charming, expressive, and visually enrapturing 3D animation, director Gints Zilbalodis stunned audiences at Cannes with this heartwarming tale of friendship, teamwork, and adventure.
“Brimming with sentiment but not sentimentality, one of the most moving animated films in recent memory, and groundbreaking too” (IndieWire).
“A joy to experience but also a deeply affecting story, the work of a unique talent who deserves to be ranked among the world’s great animation artists” (The Hollywood Reporter).
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Gints Zilbalodis | Co-Writer/Director
Gints Zilbalodis (1994) is a Latvian filmmaker and animator. His debut feature film Away won Best Feature Film Contrechamp Award in Annecy, and has been selected in more than 90 festivals and sold in 18 territories. His fascination for filmmaking began at an early age watching classic films and making shorts. Prior to Away he made 7 short films in various mediums including hand-drawn animation, 3D animation and live-action and often mixing their characteristic aesthetics. Flow, his second animated feature film, made its World Premiere at the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes.
Matīss Kaža | Co-Writer/Producer
Matīss Kaža (1995) is a Latvian writer, director and producer. He got his BFA in Film & TV from Tisch School of the Arts in New York, and an MA in Audiovisual & Performing Arts from the Latvian Academy of Culture. He has directed, written and produced a number of internationally recognized Baltic films, and runs the production company Trickster Pictures while also being a lead producer at the animation studio Dream Well Studio. While many of his works have a social resonance, the primary criteria for his projects is a strong sense of authorship and cinematic vision that resonates beyond national borders. His latest directed film Neon Spring (2022) premiered in Edinburgh Film Festival and was screened in festivals around the world. Most recently, he produced Sisters (2022, Warsaw Film Festival 1+2 Competition Winner) by Linda Olte, co-produced Drowning Dry (2024, two awards in Locarno Main Competition) by Laurynas Bareiša and co-wrote and produced Flow. Matīss also writes and directs for the theater and works as a lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Culture.
