The critically acclaimed animated film “ Flow ,” which made its global debut at the Cannes Film Festival and was chosen as Latvia’s official entry for the Best International Feature Oscar, has been scheduled for an awards season release in the United States. It will launch in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 22 and expand nationwide in the weeks following via Janus Films and Sideshow .

Directed by Gints Zilbalodis, “Flow” tells the story of a courageous cat whose home is destroyed by a catastrophic flood. Joined by a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog, the cat embarks on a perilous journey by boat in search of dry land. Together, the unlikely group must rely on trust and bravery to navigate the dangers of their newly aquatic world.

Janus Films and Sideshow are behind the Oscar-nominated “EO,” “All That Breathes” and “Drive My Car” — the latter also earning a nod for best picture and winning international feature. “Flow” will receive a significant promotional push, and if nominated for both international feature and animated feature, it would mirror the achievement of the acclaimed “Flee” (2021), which also secured a nomination for documentary feature. However, “Flow” isn’t the only animated film aiming to make history this year; Focus Features’ “Piece by Piece,” a Lego-style documentary on the life of Pharrell Williams, is also vying for recognition in both the doc and animation categories.

The silent animated film screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in May and garnered four awards at the Annecy Film Festival in June: the Audience Award, Jury Award, Special Prize for Original Music, and the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. “Flow” currently boasts a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Peter Debruge, Variety’s chief film critic, describes the film as “hypnotic” and “radically different from the look or feel of other toons (and yet strangely video game-like in its design).”

In addition to directing, Zilbalodis is the film’s composer with Rihards Zalupe and a co-writer alongside Matiss Kaza. Zilbalodis and Kaza also serve as producers alongside Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman.

Zilbalodis made his directorial debut at the age of 24 with “Away” which won the Contrechamp Prize for best feature film at Annecy and proceeded to screen at over 85 festivals and secure a nomination at the Annie Awards. “Flow” will also be distributed in Benelux by Le Parc Distribution and UFO in France in October.