In a recent interview, Gints Zilbalodis, the director of Flow, shared the creative process behind his groundbreaking animated film, which immerses the audience in an animal’s perspective.
Rather than presenting the animals as anthropomorphized beings, Zilbalodis chose to depict them with realistic movements and behaviors, avoiding dialogue altogether. This decision aimed to heighten the emotional impact of the story, allowing the viewer to experience the narrative through the cat’s subjective point of view.
Flow follows a cat whose solitary life is upended when a devastating flood destroys its home. The cat must confront its fear of water and other animals while seeking refuge with a group of diverse creatures.
Zilbalodis explained that these dual fears—fear of water and fear of others—are intricately connected. Whenever the cat is frightened by others, the water grows more violent, and when the cat forms bonds with the animals, the water becomes calmer and more serene.
The film has gained critical acclaim and even earned a spot on the Oscars’ shortlist for Best International Feature, making it the first film from Latvia to reach that level of recognition.
When asked about the inspiration behind Flow, Zilbalodis explained that the idea began during his high school years, when he made a short film about his cat.
He found the concept of a cat being afraid of water to be universally relatable, a story that could be told without words. Over time, the idea evolved into a feature film, with Zilbalodis choosing to go deeper into the relationship between the cat and the other animals.
He focused on the cat’s internal struggles with both fear of water and fear of others, intertwining the two fears in the narrative. As the cat’s interactions with the other animals improve, the water becomes more peaceful.
Zilbalodis emphasized that he wanted to avoid using dialogue and instead capture the animals’ behavior as naturally as possible. He sought to tell the story from the cat’s point of view, making the audience feel what the cat feels.
By doing so, Zilbalodis wanted to create an emotional experience, where the viewers are drawn into the world of the cat without needing everything to be explained. Over-explaining, he believes, could disrupt this immersion.
Animated Film Flow
Regarding the process of ensuring the animals moved and behaved realistically, Zilbalodis shared that while he had a deep understanding of cats and dogs, the animators went to great lengths to make sure every movement was authentic. They used a large library of animal videos, filmed their own pets, and visited zoos to observe real-life animal behaviors.
The sound design was also a crucial part of the film, with the team recording actual animal sounds rather than using human mimics. Zilbalodis noted the importance of paying attention to the smallest details, such as how a cat’s ears move when it hears something. These movements were incorporated into the animation to ensure the animals’ behavior felt natural.
Zilbalodis explained that the film’s style was driven by naturalism rather than realism. They didn’t aim to replicate real life precisely but instead interpreted it in a way that conveyed the emotions and ideas they wanted to express.
This approach allowed the film to maintain a balance between realism and artistic interpretation. For example, while real animal sounds were used, the voice of a capybara didn’t fit the character it was meant to portray, so they chose to use the voice of a camel instead.
When discussing the film’s visual style, Zilbalodis described it as a highly stylized and graphic look, with brushstroke textures and exaggerated colors, while still maintaining a grounded feel.
This visual approach aimed to create an immersive experience, where the audience could feel the physical elements of the environment, such as the wetness of the water or the movement of the grass.
The backgrounds were made more detailed than the characters to avoid overwhelming them with too much visual information, which could have affected the characters’ expressiveness. Instead, the characters were designed with a stylized silhouette, allowing the audience to project their own experiences onto them.
Overall, Zilbalodis’s approach to animation in Flow was designed to draw the audience deeply into the story, allowing them to connect emotionally with the cat’s journey and the world around it.
By prioritizing naturalistic behavior, immersive camerawork, and a stylized aesthetic, Zilbalodis succeeded in creating a film that resonates on an emotional level while still maintaining a sense of wonder and intensity.
