Full halls both at nine in the morning and at ten in the evening – no other film at the just-concluded "Kino pavasaris" festival could boast such phenomenal attendance, only "Potvynis" (Flow).
It seems that the wave of interest in the story of the gray kitten is not going to subside. After a limited number of screenings at the festival, the animated film by Latvian Gintas Zilbalodis begins its journey across Lithuania on March 28.
The film centers on a lonely cat who finds refuge in a flooded world on a drifting sailboat, where a sleepy capybara already lives. Soon, a hoarding lemur and a loyal golden retriever join the company. This motley crew must overcome the challenges of their new aquatic world and learn to cooperate.
Small budget, unique solutions
"The Flood," which brought Latvia's first-ever Oscar and Golden Globe, as well as eternal fame in its homeland to its creator Gintas Zilbalodis, is unique in many aspects.
For example, the animated film that beat out the works of the major studios in the awards marathon was created using the free, publicly available program Blender. Its budget is record-breakingly low, just 3,4 million euros, which is 50 times less than the money spent on the animated film "Inside Out 2".
Moreover, there is not a single word of human speech in the film, but the plot is so emotional that you will never get bored. It is also interesting that the sound directors recorded real animal "conversations" especially for this film - it is true that the capybara speaks on screen... camel-like.
A universal work of cinematic art
"The Flood" became the opening film of the 30th anniversary "Kino pavasaris" - that is, it was shown to representatives of the film industry and cultural elite gathered at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre.
The very next day, the adults in the theater seats were replaced by the little festival visitors – G. Zilbalodis's work became the main highlight of the opening of "Kino pavasaris" for children, held in Kaunas and Klaipėda. Such choices, which did not leave indifferent viewers of all age groups, only prove what a universal work of cinematic art was born in the neighboring country.
“We have a great, magical, eloquent, educational, enriching… almost sacred animation that should be seen by as many children as possible, and, of course, adults,” comments Agnė Paulina, a visitor to “Kino pavasaris”.
"It's a film about everything, disguised as a simple story about an animal's journey," intrigues Monika, who saw "Flood" at the festival.
"A treasure trove of animation for all people who like unanswered questions," adds Deinora, a spectator fascinated by the film, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.