From left, Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman, winners of the award for best animated feature film for “Flow,” pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by ...

Flow,” a wordless cat parable that became the first Latvian film to win an Academy Award, prompted a sleepless night for Latvians celebrating the historic accolade. “Flow” won the Oscar for animated feature at Sunday’s 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles,

Flow, a dreamy, dialogue-free tale of a cat in a post-apocalyptic landscape, scored best animated feature film at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, becoming the first Latvian film to win an Academy Award and sparking a wave of national pride.

Gints Zilbalodis tale about a cat in a flooded world missed out on the Oscar for Best International Feature Film but still became Latvia's first Oscar win. And it was surely also the first Oscar winner to be made entirely in the free 3D modelling software Blender, cementing the open-source program's place among the best animation software.

“This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated,” Zilbalodis told the Los Angeles audience. “So it really means a lot to us. We are very inspired and we hope to be back soon.

LOS ANGELES — (AP ... "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.”

“This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated,” Zilbalodis told the Los Angeles audience. “So it really means a lot to us. We are very inspired and we hope to be back soon.