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This interview was originally published on February 14, 2025.
At the97th Academy Awards,Flowwon for Best Animated Feature.
Maybe the key to making a beloved movie is to tickle a few large rodents along the way.
We used real animal voices inFlow.
In most cases this wasnt a problem, except for the capybara, Zilbalodis explained in aposton X.
We made a creative decision to offer the role to a baby camel instead.
The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 and finally reached U.S. shores in November.
Wasnt there a moment when you used a lemurs breath for the cat?
Zilbalodis asked Coic-Gallas when I called them up, just days beforeFlowwas set to hit the streaming platform Max.
(Its finally available on February 14.)
We started recording, but he was still very quiet, so the zookeeper tickled him.
After a few minutes, we heard the first sound, which was absolutely ridiculous.
I thought I was fooled because I really was expecting a big beautiful sound.
So I asked for another capybara, but the guy told me it was the best I could get.
I really hoped it would work when you added the picture.
I laughed and said we cant use this and we have to look for another sound.
But it fits perfectly with the capybara.
Gints Zilbalodis:We also considered a llama at one point.
:Maybe we could manipulate the sound to change the pitch.
Gurwal was very worried, but I figured there was something else we could use.
Did you get to pet the capybara at all?
Who is tickling the capybara in the picture you shared with us?G.C.
:It was the zookeeper.
Capybaras are really funny, and I really wanted to touch and play with them.
Did you know beforehand how much of a cult following capybaras have?G.Z.
:They were gaining popularity, so I think thats why I noticed them.
I had seen videos of capybaras being friends with every pop in of animal.
Its a very unpredictable and very anxious time in the world.
People are looking to capybaras as a means to escape and find peace in their own lives.
:Its a good representation of the positive feelings and enthusiasm for this movie around the world.
I did a screening in Brazil, and over there, a capybara is as common as a dog.
And the audience didnt notice it wasnt the right sound for a capybara and they live with them!
One of the pictures shows a lemur on your shoulder.
How did that happen?G.C.
:Youve never been in a zoo with lemurs?
They are free to go everywhere, and theyre going to go on your shoulders and in your hair.
Theyre taking all the food you have.
I stayed there the entire afternoon, running after the lemurs to record them.
After the first hour, they got used to me so thats when they started climbing on my shoulders.
It made it very easy to record them.
What did they sound like?G.C.
:The sound was great.
Lemurs have only three sounds; theyre not really expressive, and inFlowour lemur is very talkative.
I needed a lot of sounds from them.
Whats important is that we used real animals, and its not a human voice acting.
:Wasnt there a moment when you used a lemurs breath for the cat?
I think thats why real animals are watching the film and paying attention to the screen.
What animal sound do you think people are most surprised to hear in the film?G.C.
It took almost two days listening to many animals, playing with the different speeds and pitches.
Similar to the baby camel where I dont know where it came from, I found a tiger.
The tiger had a problem with its voice, or it was a very old tiger.
It had a strange breathing sound, like it had asthma.
I pitched the sound down to make it become the whale.
No one ever guessed it was a tiger.
Magic of my job!
Were there other animals that were difficult to find the sounds for?G.C.
Theres no sound when a fish moves in the water.
It was very easy to ask Gints to help me write a piece of music for this sequence.
I thought I could just put some water sounds in, and it would be fine.
But Gints said, No, you have to find something.
So I put some compressed air in water and moved it around a microphone.
It was mainly just air moving.
Gurwal, your cat was one of the voices forFlow, correct?G.C.
:Yes, my cat is famous, and she doesnt realize it.
I thought it would be easy to record the cat because my cat is very expressive.
But when she saw the microphone, she stopped talking.
I was able to record her for a bit before she realized the microphone was there.
That was last summer and for two months, my cat didnt talk, at least not near me.
Shes not afraid of the microphone anymore.
:Why did you record your cat again?
I was home alone, and the only other person who was there was the cat.
I followed her around with the microphone, and it worked.
A post shared by Gints Zilbalodis (@gzilbalodis)
Has your cat seen the movie?G.C.
Youve seen on Instagram that there are a lot of animals watching the movie; its crazy.
There are so many pets and toddlers who are obsessed withFlow.G.Z.
:Its really cool because I just tried to make a film I would like to see.
I wasnt trying to make it for a broad audience.
I thought it would maybe be seen at a few festivals if were lucky.
Somehow, its reached a really wide audience, and it works for kids as well as adults.
We respect kids and didnt want to over-explain anything.
Kids are more engrossed in the quiet moments.
Its incredible how people are connected to animals.
What else surprised you about the audience for the film?G.C.
:Last month, I had an incredible experience where I went to jail.
:Explain that you were just visiting the jail.
:Yes, just visiting.
There was a screening ofFlowin one of the biggest prisons near Paris.
Talk to me about the film youre currently working on.G.Z.
:Right now, Im working on the music.
ForFlowwe had eight and a half hours of music, and we only used about 15 minutes of it.
I already have more than four hours for the next project, and Im still going to write more.
I need help from the music to understand the story.
Im also developing some visual materials before the script is even finished because that will also influence the story.
Were going to do the film in our studio in Latvia.
Its the first film for me that will have dialogue, and thats a new kind of challenge.
I wanted to do something Id never done before.
Its a bit bigger thanFlow, but not much bigger.
I cant really talk about the story, but its very personal to me, just likeFlowis.
You mentioned dialogue, so will humans be talking in the film?G.Z.:Mhm.
What do you take as inspiration when youre working on this film, especially with the music?G.Z.
Theres also the sound of the flood, which is very dreadful.
This next one is more dreamlike.
I dont know whats inspiring me; Im just playing with it.
I dont know where it would lead me.
What did you learn fromFlowthat youre applying to this movie?G.Z.
:Im trying to delegate more with each project.
I did my first film by myself, and withFlow, I was quite involved.
Id like to focus more on the storytelling and the big picture and do less on the technical things.
