FLOW

Gints Zilbalodis was born on April 13, 1994, in Riga, Latvia, into a family of artists—his mother is a painter and his father a designer. From a young age, he showed a strong interest in film and animation, experimenting with different techniques largely on his own, while also studying multimedia design at the Janis Rozentāls Art School in Riga.

He began his professional career making several short films that already displayed his minimalistic and atmospheric style. In 2019, Zilbalodis made his feature film debut with Away (Projām), which he wrote, directed, animated, and scored himself. The film received international recognition, winning the Contrechamp Award for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

In 2024, he released his second feature film, Flow (Straume), co-produced by Latvia, France, and Belgium. The film, which combines animation with visual storytelling and minimal dialogue, has received multiple awards and established Zilbalodis as a prominent figure in contemporary animation. His work is characterized by minimalist storytelling, carefully crafted atmospheres, and themes exploring solitude, survival, and coexistence, as seen in Flow, where animals adapt to a flooded world abandoned by humans.