Hometown pride in Riga after 'Flow' wins Latvia's first Oscar

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — “Flow,” a wordless cat parable that became the first Latvian film to win an Academy Award, prompted a sleepless night for Latvians celebrating the historic accolade.

“Flow” won the Oscar for animated feature at Sunday’s 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, which aired starting at 2 a.m. Monday, in an upset over DreamWorks Animations’ “The Wild Robot.”

The Oscar statuette is the latest source of hometown pride for the Baltic country of nearly 1.9 million people who have embraced “Flow” and filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis in droves since the world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. The National Film Centre of Latvia 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, according to the film center. And over 15,000 people over 10 days visited the Latvian National Museum of Art to see the film’s Golden Globe Award — 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 “Best International Feature Film” at the Academy Awards.

“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 Rinkēvičs 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 Rinkēvičs, who snapped a photo with it Monday — can pose with the famous feline. And a special stamp featuring the starring black cat was released days before the Oscars ceremony.

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

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

From left, Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman, winners of the award for best animated feature film for "Flow," pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

From left, Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman, winners of the award for best animated feature film for "Flow," pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

From left, Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman, winners of the award for best animated feature film for "Flow," pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Gregory Zalcman, from left, Ron Dyens, Gints Zilbalodis, center, and Matiss Kaza accept the award for best animated feature film for "Flow" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Goldie Hawn looks on from right. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Gints Zilbalodis, left, accepts the award for best animated feature film for "Flow" from Andrew Garfield during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Gregory Zalcman, from left, Ron Dyens, Gints Zilbalodis, center, and Matiss Kaza accept the award for best animated feature film for "Flow" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Goldie Hawn, second right, and Andrew Garfield look on from right. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on its first three possessions to go up 21-3. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn't complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30, tying Tony Romo's franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown throws.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three by Jer'Zhan Newton.

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field by Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

After Prescott threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game's opening drive, Johnson went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018. Samuel finished by running into Donovan Wilson, knocking the safety's helmet off.

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a 17-play march that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.

Cowboys: Williams sustained a shoulder injury. ... Ferguson missed the second half with a calf injury.

Commanders: C Tyler Biadasz left with a right knee injury.

Cowboys: Close the season at New York Giants on Jan. 3 or 4.

Commanders: Season finale at Philadelphia on Jan. 3 or 4.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Washington Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson (14) throws during the first half an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws during the first half an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson (87) catches a touchdown pass as Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) defends during the first half an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (22) is congratulated by teammates running back Jeremy McNichols and wide receiver Treylon Burks (13) after scoring during the first half an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws during the first half an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)