'Flow' wins best animated feature at 2025 Oscars, makes history for Latvian film

LOS ANGELES — The independent film "Flow" won the best animated feature film at the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, securing the first Academy Award for Latvia and its Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis.

"Flow" follows a cat that finds refuge on a boat along with other animals that join together after a flood destroys their homes.

The movie stood out in 2024, having been rendered on a free and open-source software platform called Blender and having no dialogue.

"I'm really moved by the warm reception our film has had. I hope this will open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world," Zilbalodis said during his acceptance speech.

"This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated, so it really means a lot to us. We are very inspired, and we hope to be back soon."

"Flow" rode a tidal wave into the Oscar race after big studio films like "Inside Out 2," "Moana 2" and "The Wild Robot," which all had higher box-office numbers, lost the Golden Globe to the small independent film.

The "Flow" team also transformed its smaller budget into a nominee for the best international film Oscar, achieving rare recognition for an animated film in two major categories and making history with the first Oscar nominations for the Northern European country ever.

The 97th Academy Awards saw critical darlings and fan-favorites such as "Anora," "Conclave," "The Substance" "Dune: Part Two" and "Wicked" duke it out for the year's top honors.

"Anora," an indie romantic dramedy from director Sean Baker, cleaned up with five awards, including best picture, director and actress for Mikey Madison. Meanwhile, Adrien Brody took home his second best actor Oscar for "The Brutalist," the historical epic that picked up three wins.

Additionally, "Succession" star Kieran Culkin snagged best supporting actor for "A Real Pain" while Zoe Saldaña got best supporting actress for "Emilia Pérez."

Contributing: Brian Truitt, Paste BN