Universal Language

Winter. Somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg. Negin and Nazgol find a banknote frozen into the pavement ice and look for a way to get it out. Massoud walks a group of bewildered tourists around Winnipeg's historic sites, and the further the tour goes the stranger his commentary gets. Matthew resigns from his job with the Québec government and sets off to find the mother he has not seen in years. The three stories run in the same city and the same language; the city is in Canada and the signs are in Persian. Matthew Rankin directs, moving between French, Persian and Québécois French. Eighty-nine minutes. It won the audience award in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes in 2024 and was Canada's entry for the Oscars.