Latvians are proud Academy Award winners in the 2025 Oscar gala
Latvian creative and cultural sector is a vivid part of the national brand and identity. EIT Culture & Creativity visited Riga in the end of February, just in the eve of Academy Awards gala where a Latvian origin animated film Flow, Straume in Latvian, was nominated in the category of best animated film. The film is a co-production by Latvia, Belgium and France, and is directed by Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža.
In the streets of Riga you could see the film been advertised actively and hear people talking about the coming award ceremony. At the airport a Flow shop was located right at the entrance of the transfer hall, so you could not miss it. You could feel the exited atmosphere. And what do you know, Flow won the Oscar!
For a small country like Latvia this recognition and visibility is a huge thing and will carry the CCSI field in the country for the years to come:
“The international success of the film Straume has brought recognition and support from the Latvian government, both for the film’s creative team and for the Latvian film industry as a whole. The Dream Well studio was awarded the Cabinet of Ministers Prize of 300,000 EUR for winning the Golden Globe, 150,000 EUR was allocated for the international marketing of Latvian animation, and an additional 1,000,000 EUR was granted to the film industry as extra funding for the 2025 animation film project competition. Work is also underway on a proposal for the establishment of an education system for animation in Latvia”, says Baiba Mūrniece, the deputy state secretary for cultural policy in the Ministry of Culture of Latvia.
For entrepreneurs in cultural and creative fields this is of course great news. The popularity and recognition of the country will evoke interest towards Latvian makers, especially in animation and audiovisual, but will generate opportunities for other creatives in terms of product sales, tourism and internationalization.
“It was a great pleasure to welcome Kati Uusi-Rauva to an event in Rīga and showcase the best of Latvian creative industries at such an important point in time. We see the EIT Culture & Creativity as a great opportunity for the development of the sector in Europe well as a very valuable tool for our competitiveness and recognition internationally”, states Līva Stūrmane, Chairman of the board Creativity La. b
We in EIT Culture & Creativity want to express our heart-felt congratulations the makers, director Gints Zilbalodis & Dreamwell Studio and entire Latvia for the win – may the future bring even more success for Latvian creatives!
