In a big win that underscored the growing prominence of indepedent animation, Gints Zibalodis’ “Flow,” the moving dialog-free tale of a solitary cat’s journey as it learns to survive after a great flood – that was made with open-source software Blender for just $3.

Flow’ Becomes First Latvian Film to Win Academy Award for Animated Feature LOS ANGELES (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.

After a tense Oscar race in the Best Animated Feature category, Flow pulled ahead for the win at Sunday night’s ceremony. With their win, Flow beat out Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and The Wild Robot.