#away 2019

[henrykathman]

This video was produced for ​⁠the essay library's 2025 Essay Jam, where essayists were tasked with writing, producing a full video essay in the span of 48 hours. The theme for the jam was Journey, which caused me to think about animator Gints Zilbalodis and the ways his eight films embody the struggles and joys found in the artistic Journey.

For more info about the jam

Watch the other jam entries

Sources:

Away. Directed by Gints Zilbalodis, Tubi, 2019.

https://tubitv.com/movies/539578/.

Bailey, Jason. ““Twilight Zone: The Movie” and the Deadly Accident That Plagued It.” The New York Times, 25 June 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/06/25/movies/the-twilight-zone-the-movie-accident.html.

Bromwich, Jonah, and Liam Stack. ““Ren & Stimpy” Creator Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Teenagers in the 1990s.” The New York Times, 4 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/arts/ren-stimpy-creator-misconduct.html.

Coyle, Jake. ““Flow” Review: Cat Parable about Climate Change Is the Year’s Best Animated Movie.” AP News, The Associated Press, 6 Dec. 2024, apnews.com/article/flow-animated-movie-review-98940a387edd5f83354719f51139bc33. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Debruge, Peter. ““Away” Review: Gints Zilbalodis’ Mesmerizing One-Man Animation.” Variety, Dec. 2019, variety.com/2019/film/reviews/away-review-gints-zilbalodis-1203420229/. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

IMDb. “Gints Zilbalodis.” The Internet Movie Database, IMDb.com, Inc., 2019, www.imdb.com/name/nm6478535/?ref_=tt_ov_dr_1. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Lang, Jamie. ““Flow” Director Gints Zilbalodis Filmmaker Interview.” Variety, 8 Jan. 2025, variety.com/2025/film/awards/flow-director-gints-zilbalodis-interview-1236269649/. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Orkibi, Hod. "Highly artistic-social personalities buffer the effects of burnout on career commitment." The Arts in Psychotherapy 50 (2016): 75-83.

Petch, Callie. “Away – Film Review.” Set the Tape, 15 Jan. 2021, setthetape.com/2021/01/15/away-film-review/ . Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Roxborough, Scott. “Flow Director Gints Zilbalodis Interview: Cat-Focused Environment Film.” The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2024, www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/flow-director-gints-zilbalodis-interview-cat-focused-environmental-fable-1236023460/ .

Shapiro, Lila. “The Dark Secrets behind the Neil Gaiman Abuse Accusations.” Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025, www.vulture.com/article/neil-gaiman-allegations-controversy-amanda-palmer-sandman-madoc.html.

Spoto, Donald. The Life of Alfred Hitchcock : The Dark Side of Genius. London, Collins, 1983.

Stage, The Film. “Flow Director Gints Zilbalodis on Animating Animals, Allegories, and Cinema vs. Videogames.” The Film Stage - Your Spotlight on Cinema, 25 Nov. 2024, thefilmstage.com/flow-director-gints-zilbalodis-on-animating-animals-allegories-and-cinema-vs-videogames /. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Thapa, Shaurya. “Flow - Interview with Film Director / Co-Writer Gints Zilbalodis | Borrowing Tape.” Borrowing Tape, 10 Jan. 2025, borrowingtape.com/interviews/flow-interview-with-film-director-co-writer-gints-zilbalodis. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

“Twilight Zone Accident... John Landis Indictment... - RareNewspapers.com.” Rarenewspapers.com, 2025, www.rarenewspapers.com/view/679311?imagelist=1. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Zilbalodis, Gints. “Gints Zilbalodis Vimeo Page.” Vimeo, 2010, vimeo.com/gints. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

[neopuff]

away + the rabbi's cat // starting now

[stuff-diary]

Away

Movies watched in 2025

Away (2019, Latvia)

Director & Writer: Gints Zilbalodis

Mini-review:

This has been at the top of my watchlist since I caught Flow, and it didn't disappoint. The animation is certainly rougher, as a result of an even smaller budget, but Zilbalodis still manages to create a lot of stunning imagery. While the story itself shares a lot of similarities with his second feature, it's surprisingly effective. And despite the limited expressivity of the character designs, you can't help but root for them throughout their odyssey. That's in great part thanks to the score (also made by Zilbalodis), which builds an inimitable atmosphere. So yeah, after Away, I'll definitely be looking forward to this filmmaker's future works.

[thefilmagazine]

'Away' Review - Solo Animation Reminiscent of Ghibli

Gints Zilbalodis delivers a calming, sensory experience in his feature animation debut 'Away', a film without dialogue that draws comparisons to Studio Ghibli.

Read here.