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The Oscar statuette is the latest source of hometown pride for the who have embraced “Flow� and filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis in droves since the world premiere at the in May 2024. calls the film “an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of Latvian cinema.�

More than 320,000 people have watched it in theaters across Latvia, an audience larger than any other film screened in the country in the last 30 years, . And over 15,000 people over 10 days visited the Latvian ºÃÉ«tv Museum of Art to see the film’s — also Latvia’s first — on public display in January.

After thanking his cats and dogs during his acceptance speech, Zilbalodis acknowledged the momentous nature of his win. The film was also nominated for

“This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated,� Zilbalodis told the Los Angeles audience. “So it really means a lot to us. We are very inspired and we hope to be back soon.�

Latvian musician Ralfs Eilands called the pre-dawn ceremony as “indescribable! The best sleepless night in my life!� in a post on X.

The film — called “Straume� in Latvian — is 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.

“This is a great and historic day for Latvia! And we will all need time to understand what happened, because something big and beautiful occurred!� Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvi�s wrote on X following the win.

Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, in her congratulations on X to the filmmakers, added, “the cat continues to capture the hearts of people worldwide!�

In the center of the capital city, an art installation set up in February spells out “RIGA� with the black cat perched atop the “A� to ensure Latvians and tourists alike — including Rinkēvi�s, who snapped — can pose with the famous feline. And a special stamp featuring the starring black cat was released days before .

Oscars host Conan O'Brien also gave a shoutout — and a challenge — to following the “Flow� victory: "Ball’s in your court, !"

“We’ve got you, @ConanOBrien. Estonia will do its best to catch up,� Kristen Michal, Estonia's prime minister, replied on X.