Monday Cinema: Universal Language

Trail & District Arts Council presents Monday Cinema: Universal Language on Monday, March 10 at 4 pm at The Royal Theatre, 1597 Bay Ave., Trail.

Set in a mysterious and surreal reimagined Winnipeg we are introduced to a charmingly impossible Canada where Persian and French are the two official languages, and loneliness is the common currency.

An absurdist triptych of seemingly unconnected stories, the film follows a group of children on eccentric quests to flummox the adults around them, a man who leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg, and the government worker who returns home only to find his family is not what he remembered.

Universal Language is a loving exploration of a diasporic nation, filtered through a deadpan comic sensibility that will feel like a warm blanket to fans of Wes Anderson and Aki Kaurismaki.

Dir: Matthew Rankin / Featuring: Rojina Esmaeili, Danielle Fichaud, Pirouz Nemati, Matthew Rankin, Saba Vahedyousefi, / Country: Canada / Language: Persian, French / Duration: 1 hr 29 mins / Genre: Comedy, Drama / Rating: General SUBTITLES

“...a brilliantly bizarre comedy that imagines a Canada where the two official languages are Farsi and French.” - Saffron Maeve, Sight and Sound

“An off-kilter creation that feels like the wacko offspring of Aki Kaurismäki and Abbas Kiarostami’s cinemas.” - Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“Universal Language is a magnificent film, one that feels warm and familiar even as we realize just how startlingly original it is.” - Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture

Watch the trailer https://youtu.be/y-373fptEXI

Canadian Oscar Submission, Best International Feature Film (2025)

98% Rotten Tomatoes

Content Advisory: coarse language

The Monday Cinema series is part of the Toronto International Film Festival Film Circuit and is presented by Trail and District Arts Council at The Royal Theatre, 1597 Bay Avenue, Trail.

Tickets $13 at tickets.trail-arts.com or call the Box Office at 250-368-9669 Monday to Friday from 12-4 pm. Only 143 tickets are available for this screening. If tickets are available, they will go on sale at the venue when the doors open 30 minutes before the screening.

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