Nov 23
New York International Children's Film Festival New York, NY
TicketsMatīss Kaža
Co-Writer/Producer of FLOW
Flow— Making waves with sound and image
Program Description
Join us for this fascinating chat about the distinctive soundtrack for the film FLOW with the co-writer and producer of the award-winning new animated feature, Matīss Kaža.
Matīss chats about the important ecological themes in the book and also take a deep dive into the film’s soundtrack. It’s filled with excitement and drama, but there is no human speech in the film. How did they go about recording animals, how does the process of editing a soundtrack come together, and how did the creative team get the idea to use waves and soundwaves to make such an exciting film come to life?
Film Synopsis
Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences.
A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.
Photo credit: Sideshow / Janus Films
About the Speaker
Matīss Kaža, Co-Writer/Producer of FLOW, is a Latvian writer, director and producer. He got his BFA in Film & TV from Tisch School of the Arts in New York, and an MA in Audiovisual & Performing Arts from the Latvian Academy of Culture. He has directed, written and produced a number of internationally recognized Baltic films, and runs the production company Trickster Pictures while also being a lead producer at the animation studio Dream Well Studio. While many of his works have a social resonance, the primary criteria for his projects is a strong sense of authorship and cinematic vision that resonates beyond national borders. His latest directed film Neon Spring (2022) premiered at Edinburgh Film Festival and was screened in festivals around the world. Most recently, he produced Sisters (2022, Warsaw Film Festival 1+2 Competition Winner) by Linda Olte, co-produced Drowning Dry (2024, two awards in Locarno Main Competition) by Laurynas Bareišaand, and co-wrote and produced Flow (2024, Cannes Un Certain Regard, two awards in Annecy Film Festival) by Gints Zilbalodis. When he's not working in film, Matīss writes and directs for the theatre and works as a lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Culture.