10 Awesome Recent Movies That Came Totally Out Of Nowhere

Flow is one of the most inspiring cinematic success stories of recent years - and storming proof that with enough talent and passion, even a small, little-known project can win an Oscar.

Flow is a dialogue-free Latvian animated film following a cat as it tries to survive in a flooded, post-apocalyptic world, and though it had a strong festival run, screening at Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival among many others, all signs pointed to this thing coming and going where general audiences were concerned.

The film was quietly produced over a five-year period by a small team of around 40-50 artists using the free software Blender, only to suddenly surge into contention as a legitimate contender for the Best Animated Feature Oscar at the tail-end of 2024.

Many analysts still pegged Flow to be beaten out by its decidedly more mainstream rival The Wild Robot, but alas, Flow indeed won the Oscar - a stunning triumph for a film that few had heard of mere months before. 

It arrived amid little hype, charmed the hell out of everyone, and made off with Oscar gold. You love to see it.