Interestingly, in recent weeks, even local film experts had begun to lose hope for "Flow's" chances. Of course, it's easy for English-language film critics to dream about the success of their own creators and their opinions often set the tone for tastes and expectations elsewhere. Fortunately, they were all proven wrong. In a world seemingly on a collision course with disaster, at least one thing remains intact: winning the most prestigious film award — the Oscar — doesn't necessarily require hundreds of animators or the full might of the film industry. Sometimes, all it takes is an open-source program, a kitchen counter, a beloved cat and — most importantly — one determined Latvian.

This marks Latvia's first-ever Oscar win, but it's more than that. For the first time, the golden statuette is making its way to the Baltics and we're entitled to bask in some of that reflected glory. Especially in a time when, on a global diplomatic stage meant to define the course of recent history, the three tiny states on the edge of a war zone were — whether deliberately or by oversight — left out of the conversation. Just as one man in a long red tie tried to suggest that the powerful have the right to spit on the smaller ones whenever they feel like it.

These are powerful symbols and over the past few days, we've had no choice but to come to terms with their brutal reality. But let's fill this moment with as much air as we can. We are no longer just marginal players — we stand alongside the giants! Even Oscars' host Conan O'Brien felt the need to emphasize it twice: "The ball is in your court now, Estonia." He was talking about films and Oscars, but was that all?

At a time when even the most optimistic among us are beginning to lose hope, we must cling to every straw within reach. So let's read into this more than what's actually there. Let's drown out foolishness and restore faith in a better tomorrow — because if the Latvians can win an Oscar, then truly, anything is possible. Yes, you might detect a hint of bitter envy in my tone, but surely our southern neighbors are just as surprised as we are. An Oscar? For us? Really? Neither they nor we are used to dreaming this big. But now, there's proof: one must always aim higher than what seems logical or believable.

And so, as we head into what is likely to be another pivotal and surprising week, we can do so with our heads held high. But let's take a moment to recall what happened in "Flow": the animals had to stick together because the humans were gone. The world depicted in the film was eerily similar to our own, yet some great, unexplained catastrophe had turned everything upside down. Let's hope that such a dark reality remains confined to the screen — so that we, together with the Latvians, can keep celebrating and keep moving forward.

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