Directed by Matthew Rankin and co-written with Pirouz Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi,
Universal Language sees the director play a fictional
version of himself on a journey to meet his mother. That's one of three
stories within the film, the others featuring two kids who try to prise a
sum of money from a frozen lake and an Iranian tour guide leading tourists
on a bizarre trip through the city of Winnipeg.
The film also stars Nemati alongside Rojina Esmaeili, Danielle Fichaud and
Sobhan Javadi.
Universal Language is in US cinemas February 2025. A UK/ROI
release has yet to be announced.
Check out the trailer below.
The official synopsis reads:
In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Grade-schoolers 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.