Canada Selects 'Universal Language' by Matthew Rankin for Oscar Submission

Matthew Rankin's 'Universal Language,' a tribute to Iranian cinema, will represent Canada in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars. The film, set in Montreal and Winnipeg, recently won the audience prize at Cannes and features a story blending diary, city symphony, and confinement-era reflections.

Matthew Rankin's film 'Universal Language' has been chosen by Canada as its entry for the Best International Feature category at the upcoming Academy Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film recently clinched the audience prize for best film in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival.

'Universal Language,' presented in Farsi and French, pays homage to Iranian cinema. Set in the Canadian locales of Montreal and Winnipeg, Rankin envisions a world where Farsi emerges as a dominant language. The film's narrative is a unique blend of diary entries, an absurd city symphony, and reflections on confinement-era sentiments, encapsulating themes of home, solitude, and human connection.

Rankin, excited by the film's selection, stated, "We are amazed by this improbable selection and we will do our very best to represent Canada at the Oscars. 'Universal Language' is an expression of very great collective joy between myself and my friends Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi, Sylvain Corbeil and all the beautiful and hilarious people who created this strange, triangle-shaped, Irano-Winnipego-Quebecois brain which became our film, beh naame doosti (in the Name of Friendship)."

The ensemble cast includes Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Sobhan Javadi, Pirouz Nemati, Mani Soleymanlou, Danielle Fichaud, Bahram Nabatian, Ila Firouzabadi, Hemela Pourafzal, and Dara Najmabadi. The film will premiere in North America at the Toronto Film Festival. Directed by Rankin, the screenplay was co-written with Pirouz Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi. Produced by Sylvain Corbeil under Metafilms, domestic distribution is managed by Maison 4:3, and international sales are overseen by Oscilloscope Laboratories.

(With inputs from agencies.)