FLOW | 30 November

(a) MFA Film

With film plea by Eva Wilson, curator of Skulptur Projekte

No sooner has the little cat rubbed the sleep from her eyes than she is horrified to discover that a massive flood is engulfing the old world beneath her. She barely manages to save herself by climbing onto a sailing boat, where, little by little, other animals also find refuge. It soon becomes clear that their diversity is their strength, and together they face the challenges of the new world.

The original Latvian title, “Straume”, means “stream, current”. The animated film continues the themes and narrative of Zilbalodis’ short film “Aqua”, telling the story of a group of animals finding their way in a world in the aftermath of a catastrophe. It has no dialogue and uses only animal sounds.

“Flow” is a child-friendly film about the power of friendship and solidarity, particularly in the face of threatening situations. At the same time, without coming across as preachy, “Flow” is a mature cinematic plea for the beauty, value and dignity of all living things, and a warning about the vulnerability and potential man-made destruction of the natural world. It is no coincidence that, alongside familiar pets such as dogs and cats, half of the cast features animals on the list of endangered or even critically endangered species. (Julia Helmke, epd film)

“I wanted to tell a story about what it’s like to work together and be able to rely on one another. It’s also my story, because I worked on my own for a long time and felt that the cat was the perfect representation of someone who, like me, starts out as an independent character and learns to trust others. Director Gints Zilbalodis (NDRkultur)