Universal Language + The Twentieth Century

WINNER – AUDIENCE AWARD – DIRECTOR'S FORTNIGHT – CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER – FIPRESCI AWARD BEST FILM – VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER – BEST DIRECTOR – STOCKHOLM FILM FESTIVAL
SHORTLISTED FOR THE OSCARS BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

ROY ANDERSON MEETS WES ANDERSON!
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE is a surreal comedy. Absurd stories intertwine in priceless comic tableaux and a wonderfully funny tribute to Persian culture and film. Award-winning director Matthew Rankin extracts great comedy from the collision between a 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.

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE has been a hit at festivals around the world and has won numerous awards. Among them the newly established AUDIENCE AWARD at the 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. Wintery Winnipeg is the scene of a few schoolchildren's struggle to free a five-hundred-dollar bill they found frozen in the ice on a sidewalk. So they head out into the cold in search of something to break the frosty bill free with. The children's journey takes them through the city's brutalist neighborhoods, which are consistently painted in shades of beige, brown, and gray.

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

Meanwhile, a tour guide takes some furry visitors to fascinating places in Winnipeg. The guide shows the UNESCO-listed bench where a briefcase has taken root after being abandoned by its owner, a housing complex where no celebrities live, and finally a busy intersection with a monument to Louis Riel, founder of the province of Manitoba.

5/6 “Absolutely delightful – a hit”
“Funny in a touchingly humane way.”
"Curious, absurd and poetic" – SvD
“Tells a story about all of us” – GP
“Bizarre and entertaining” –TV4
“Low-key comedy with an appealing, friendly warmth” – UNT
“Like nothing else” – Alliance of Women Film Journalists
“You feel privileged after seeing Universal Language” – Indiewire
“Original, a future cult film” – Variety
“A film marked by care, absurdity and wild turkeys” – BFI
“Perfect pitch” – Slate
"Pure cinematic joy" - Next Best Pictures
"Spellbinding" - The Film Stage

WINNER – FIPRESCI AWARD – BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER – BEST CANADIAN DEBUT FILM – TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Twentieth Century is a surrealistic satire about the ambitious young politician Mackenzie King in an alternative Canada in 1899. The film follows his absurd quest to become Prime Minister and win the woman of his dreams, while he grapples with a domineering mother and an excessive interest in shoes. Through bizarre trials, such as waiting politely in line and dealing with disappointment, dark humor is mixed with a critique of power and nationalism. With a theatrical style, internal and external conflicts are explored in a dreamlike, historically distorted world, where Canadian identity and colonialism get a sharp, playful boot. The story culminates in an epic battle between good and evil.

Matthew Rankin's magnificent debut film charmed both festival juries and audiences at its premiere in 2019. Critics were also thrilled by this charmingly absurd comedy. Many took to the heavy artillery and compared it to greats such as Monty Python, Ken Russell and Guy Maddin. In The Twentieth Century, Rankin fantasizes freely about the tortuous path that Canada's tenth prime minister, William Lycon Mackenzie King, took to come to power. Expressionist aesthetics collide with neon colors when Matthew Rankin and the committed ensemble let loose. The 20th Century is a film you won't forget in the first place.

“Pure enjoyment from start to finish” – Back Row Cinema
“Every frame is an absurdist masterpiece” –Ebert.com
“Expressionist theatrical style in quirky and dreamlike comedy” –The Guardian
“Visually exuberant, meticulously witty and full of boisterous humor” –The New York Times
“Superbly creative and astonishingly bold with wonderfully funny dialogue” –Variety