Matthew Rankin's 'Universal Language' advances to next round in Oscars race

A scene from the film "Universal Language" is shown in this undated handout photo. (The Canadian Press/Telefilm Canada)

TORONTO — Canada's Oscar submission for best international feature film, the absurdist dramedy "Universal Language," is advancing to the next round in the race, officials announced Tuesday.

The movie from Winnipeg's Matthew Rankin is one of 15 that made the short list for the category, five of which will be chosen as nominees.

Each year, countries are invited to submit a film -- in which no more than half the dialogue is English -- for consideration in the category.

"Universal Language" sees Rankin play himself alongside a Persian- and French-speaking cast in an alternate universe where Winnipeg, Quebec and Tehran converge as one.

The movie won the Best Canadian Discovery award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and was named best Canadian film at the Vancouver International Film Festival a month later.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released short lists for 10 categories on Tuesday. The nominations will be announced on Jan. 17, after another round of voting.

Other Canadians advancing in the Oscars race include Secwepemc filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat and Toronto's Emily Kassie, who made the feature documentary short list for "Sugarcane," which offers a history of the former St. Joseph's Mission Residential School that NoiseCat's family was forced to attend.

Toronto director Brett Story's documentary "Union" is also moving forward in the category. The film, co-directed by Stephen Maing, follows workers' grassroots union campaign at an Amazon fulfilment centre in Staten Island, New York.

Meanwhile, advancing in the animated short film category is the sibling story "A Crab in the Pool," from Montreal writer-director duo Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sebastien Hamel, as well as Norwegian-Canadian director Torill Kove's autobiographical homage to adolescence "Maybe Elephants," a Mikrofilm/NFB co-production.

The awards show is set for March 2.

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2024.