Universal Language + The Twentieth Century DVD

WINNER – AUDIENCE AWARD – DIRECTOR'S FORTNIGHT – CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER – FIPRESCI AWARD FOR BEST FILM – VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER – BEST DIRECTOR – STOCKHOLM FILM FESTIVAL

SHORTLISTED FOR OSCAR FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

ROY ANDERSSON MEETS WES ANDERSON!

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE is a surreal comedy. Absurd stories are woven together into priceless comic tableaux and a fantastically funny tribute to Persian culture and film. Award-winning director Matthew Rankin extracts great comedy from the clash between wintry Canada and Persian hospitality and tradition.UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE feels like a mix between Wes Anderson, Roy Andersson, Abbas Kiarostami, Aki Kaurismäki, and Jacques Tati. at festivals around the world and won numerous awards. These include the newly established AUDIENCE AWARD at Director's Fortnight in Cannes and BEST DIRECTOR at the Stockholm Film Festival.UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE was Canada's Oscar entry and was shortlisted for the BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE 2025 category. In a parallel universe, the two languages spoken in Canada are Farsi and French. Wintry Winnipeg is the setting for a group of schoolchildren's struggle to get hold of a five hundred dollar bill they found frozen in the ice on a sidewalk. So they venture out into the cold in search of something to break the frosty bill with. The children's journey takes them through the city's brutalist neighborhoods, which are predominantly shades of beige, brown, and gray.

Another journey begins in Quebec. A civil servant quits his boring job to go home and visit his sick mother. With him on the bus is a turkey that has its own seat.

Meanwhile, a tour guide takes a group of eager visitors to fascinating places in Winnipeg. The guide shows them the UNESCO-listed bench where a briefcase took root after being abandoned by its owner and a residential complex where no celebrities live. Finally, a busy intersection with a monument to Louis Riel, founder of the province of Manitoba.

"Funny in a touching, human way."

"Curious, absurd, and poetic."nbsp;– SvD

"Tells a story about all of us" – GP

"Bizarre and entertaining" –TV4

”Light-hearted comedy with an appealing, friendly warmth” – UNT

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”Like nothing else” – Alliance of Women Film Journalists

”You feel privileged after seeing Universal Language” – Indiewire

”Original, a future cult classic" – Variety

”A film marked by care, absurdity, and wild turkeys" – BFI

”Perfect pitch ” – Slate

”Pure cinematic joy” – Next Best Pictures

”Captivating” – The Film Stage