WOW FILM FESTIVAL
FILMS 2025

Universal Language (12A)

Director: Matthew Rankin
Canada, 2024, 89', Farsi with English subtitles

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Welsh Premiere 

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Shortlisted for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, this is a quirky, cross-cultural comedy where Tehran meets Winnipeg in a surreal exploration of time, space, and identity. With influences from Abbas Kiarostami and Guy Maddin, director Matthew Rankin delivers a whimsical narrative full of misdirection and dry humor. A search for hidden money intertwines with eccentric characters—like a befuddled tour guide and a disillusioned civil servant. Full of delightful absurdity, the film beautifully blurs boundaries, proving that sometimes the most profound connections come from the strangest places. It's a hilarious, bittersweet celebration of human solidarity, wrapped in filmic magic.

'Doggedly eccentric' - Screen International 

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🏆Directors' Fortnight Audience Award Winner - 77th Cannes Film Festival 
🏆Golden Alexander Winner, Film Forward Competition - 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival
🏆Best Canadian Discovery Award - 49th Toronto International Film Festival