Valdone Rudenkiene/Tie2.lt/AP

“Flow,″ a wordless cat parable, won the Oscar for animated feature at Sunday’s 97th Academy Awards. The win gives Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis his first Academy Award.

“Flow” was made with Blender, a free, open-source graphics software tool using computer generated animation. The result is a dreamy aesthetic paired with a peaceful, yet post-apocalyptic, fable about a black cat, dog, capybara, ring-tailed lemur and secretary bird trying to survive a catastrophic flood. The film has no dialogue and forces viewers to be mesmerized by the unlikely relationship and understanding between the species trying to escape the rising waters.

“I think you can express a lot more without words. Some of these emotions and ideas I couldn’t articulate with words but with music, sound, movement and editing, I can say a lot more,” he said backstage. “Those are my favorite kinds of films and favorite scenes and are very cinematic and transcend cultural boundaries.”

It’s only Zilbalodis’ second animated film as a director.

First Latvian movie also won Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture — Animated. It was a great prize for director Gints Zilbalodis and his team.

Flow follows a cat, whose solitary lifestyle changes once their home is devastated by a great flood. The cat must learn to overcome their fear of both water and others to survive, finding safety with a group of animals from different species.

The world premier of the movie was held in Cannes film festival last May where we firstly talked with ,,Flow” director Gints Zilbalodis.