Winnipeg filmmaker’s Universal Language is Canada’s Oscar submission

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This article was published 27/08/2024 (465 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Universal Language , a film directed and co-written by Winnipeg-born filmmaker Matthew Rankin, is representing Canada in the nomination process for Best International Feature Film at the 97^th Academy Awards, to be held on March 2, 2025.

Rankin’s film, which premièred at the Cannes Film Festival, portrays an alternate Winnipeg universe in which a growing Persian community is starting to make an indelible imprint on the city’s culture.

“We are amazed by this improbable selection and we will do our very best to represent Canada at the Oscars,” said Rankin, who lives in Montreal.

The film, which was largely shot in Winnipeg, will have its North American première at TIFF on Sept. 10.