Universal Language

Local title
Ühine keel
Original title
Une Langue Universelle
Director
Matthew Rankin
Country
Year
2024

Somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, several characters' lives intertwine in surprising and mysterious ways.

Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly- befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother.

Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.

The film premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and became one of the most talked about films in Cannes.

Director
Matthew Rankin
Screenwriter
Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi
Producer
Sylvain Corbeil
Cast
Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Sobhan Javadi, Pirouz Nemati, Matthew Rankin
Cinematographer
Isabelle Stachtchenko
Editing
Xi Feng
Production Design
Louisa Schabas
Production
Metafilms
Music
Amir Amiri, Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux
World sales
Best Friend Forever
Runtime
Language
Subtitles
Other festivals
Cannes, Austin Fantastic Fest, Toronto
Director
Matthew Rankin

The 20th Century (2019), Une langue universelle (Universal Language, 2024)

Screenings

Screening040202 / Ühine keel
SubtitlesEnglish
Screening duration
Screening044103 / Ühine keel
SubtitlesEnglish
Screening duration
Screening170803 / Ühine keel
SubtitlesEnglish
Screening duration
Trailer