Canada's Oscar submission, "Universal Language," a critically acclaimed film directed by Matthew Rankin , has secured distribution deals in most major territories ahead of its North American premieres at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals.

Represented worldwide by Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever, the movie world premiered at this Cannes Directors’ Fortnight where it won the inaugural People’s Choice Award. Following Toronto and New York, the movie will go on to play at Fantastic Fest and Festival du Nouveau Cinema as the festival opener. “Universal Language” also won the Bright Horizons Best Film Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

"Universal Language" has secured distribution deals in numerous international markets, including France (Météore Films), Scandinavia (Njutafilms), Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye Movies), Switzerland (Outside The Box), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), the Commonwealth of Independent States (Universal Distribution), Japan (The Klockworx), China (DDDream), Taiwan (Hooray Films), Brazil (Belas Artes Grupo), Indonesia (Falcon Pictures), and India (Big Tree Entertainment). Discussions are ongoing for distribution in the Benelux region, the UK, and Australia, among other territories. Oscilloscope Laboratories will handle the film's release in the United States, and Maison 4:3 will release it in Canada.

The film, Rankin's follow-up to his award-winning surreal film "The Twentieth Century," is a comedic story set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The narrative follows the lives of various characters, including Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol who discover a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and attempt to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud guides a group of increasingly bewildered tourists through Winnipeg's historical sites and monuments. Matthew, disillusioned with his meaningless job in a Quebec government office, embarks on a mysterious journey to visit his mother.

“Universal Language” was produced by Sylvain Corbeil at Metafilms, the leading Canadian production company behind films by Xavier Dolan and hits like “The Nature of Love,” “Falcon Lake,” and “Felix and Meira.” Oscilloscope Labs serve as executive producers.

“The Twentieth Century” garnered the Berlinale Fipresci Award in 2020 and the Best Canadian debut award at TIFF Midnight Madness in 2019, while his 2017 short film “The Tesla World Light” premiered at Cannes Critic's Week.

Best Friend Forever's fall lineup features Marie Losier's documentary “Peaches goes Bananas”, which is having its world premiere at Venice Days, and Min Bahadur Bham's Locarno prizewinning “Shambhala.” Other world premieres include the comedic kung-fu romance “Zenithal” by Jean Baptiste Saurel and Lenny and Harpo Guit's “Heads or Fails,” a follow-up to “Mother Schmuckers” playing at Austin Fantastic Fest.