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Universal Language film image; man dressed as Christmas tree

Universal Language

Une langue universelle

Ignite High School Screening

Book Now Trailer

Recently named this year’s Canadian entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, Universal Language brings an exceptionally unique story and world to the screen. For Film Studies, English classes, or teachers seeking a truly unique film in tone, aesthetic, story and filmmaking style for their students, this film is a winning choice that has been making waves in international film festivals this year.

Imagine a Canada that feels oddly familiar, but where the national languages are French and Farsi, not English. Tim Horton’s is still beloved, and Louis Riel remains a historical hero, but the signs everywhere are in Persian, and the shopkeepers are all a little eccentric. In this oddly enchanting Winnipeg comedy, two school children find a large sum of money mysteriously frozen in the ice, and ambitiously try to retrieve it. A tour guide leads bewildered tourists around Winnipeg sites, and Matthew (played by writer-director Matthew Rankin, who is also fluent in Farsi) comes home to visit his mother, only to find his family has changed…

Winner of the inaugural Audience Award at this spring’s Directors Fortnight sidebar at Cannes, Rankin’s second feature adopts the look and feel of classic Iranian films from the 1980s, just as his debut, The Twentieth Century, paid homage to silent cinema and old Hollywood musicals. Rankin succeeds in creating a snowy Winnipeg world that feels somehow nostalgic, weaving a story that is delightfully quirky as we follow the intertwined storylines of a cast of memorable characters, each searching for belonging in their own way.

 

Chantal Akerman Audience Award, Directors’ Fortnight 2024

Q&A with writer/actor Pirouz Nemati

Director
Cast

Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Pirouz Nemati, Mani Soleymanlou, Matthew Rankin, Ila Firouzabadi

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

In Farsi and French with English subtitles

G
89 min
Award Winners Comedy Family Relations
Metafilms

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi, Matthew Rankin, Dan Berger, Aaron Katz

Producer

Sylvain Corbeil

Screenwriter

Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi

Cinematography

Isabelle Stachtchenko

Editor

Xi Feng

Production Design

Louisa Schabas

Original Music

Amir Amiri, Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux

Matthew Rankin headshot; Universal Language director

Matthew Rankin

Matthew Rankin was born in Winnipeg and studied history at McGill and Université Laval. He is the director of some 40 short films and two features which have been presented at Sundance, SXSW, Annecy, TIFF, the Berlinale, Cannes Critics Week, Directors Fortnight, and on the Criterion Channel. His first feature, The Twentieth Century, was awarded the FIPRESCI prize of the international film critics at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival and the 2019 Best First Canadian Feature Award at TIFF. Universal Language, winner of the inaugural People’s Choice Award presented by the Chantal Akerman Foundation at the 2024 Cannes Directors Fortnight, is Matthew’s second feature. He lives in Montréal.

Filmography: The Twentieth Century (2019)

In-Cinema

Date

Time

Venue

Sept 27 12:30 pm International Village, Theatre 9

How to Book

Free for schools, capacity for all films is limited. To book, submit your request with the online form below. Our Ignite team will respond to confirm availability and complete your booking.

Questions? Contact our Ignite team at [email protected]

Booking Request Form

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