I’m really moved by the warm reception our film has had, and I hope that you’ll open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world,” Zibalodis said, accepting the award. “This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated.

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.