STRAUME
Latvia, France, Belgium

Nominated for European Animated Feature Film 2024, European Film 2024

The world seems to be coming to an end, teeming with the vestiges of a human presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, it 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.

Directed by: Gints Zilbalodis
Written by: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža
Produced by: Matīss Kaža, Gints Zilbalodis, Ron Dyens, Gregory Zalcman
Editing: Gints Zilbalodis
Original Score: Gints Zilbalodis Rihards Zaļupe
Sound: Gurwal Coic-Gallas
Animation: Leo Silly-Pellisier

Statement of the director:
They don't talk, they don't walk on two legs, they don't wear clothes. They are far from the artificial anthropomorphism that has saturated the world of animation. True to their real nature, defined by their respective instincts, their feelings are nevertheless familiar to us, because their reactions echo our own metaphysical questions:

Where do we come from? Where are we going? How can we live together?

In FLOW, I wanted to imagine what would happen if a solitary character was confronted by a group of other characters, who would both support and challenge it. FLOW therefore features different personalities who are forced to live together ... just as I wanted to surround myself with a team this time. My new character is bound to live with the others and therefore to evolve through this proximity. This parallel between the story and my creative process also relates to the theme of the individual's place in society.

Like my main character, my natural inclination is to work alone so that I can control all aspects of my film. By sailing between these magnificent islands and underwater cities, by following the outcome of the conflicts that arise between the characters, but also the personal evolution of each single one, FLOW is a film that I hope will be touching and profound with regard to our human condition.

Production:
Dream Well Studio
www.dreamwell.lv

World Sales:
Charades
www.charades.eu