Universal Language

What would it look like if Tehran moved to Canada? In this surreal and slightly satirical comedy, director, co-writer and protagonist Matthew Rankin presents his distinctive and highly disparate, but all the more visually gripping vision. This absurdly conceived urban odyssey about several characters all wandering through the brutalist backdrop of an unidentifiable place is heavily inspired by the master of visual humour Jacques Tati. The film has captivated audiences at the Cannes, Toronto and New York film festivals.

Mental Hygiene of Aleš Stuchlý (special festival annotation)

After the screening of Universal Language, the uncompromising film critic, festival and music dramaturge, host of the radio podcast Jaws and leading psychosomatic, Aleš Stuchlý, will talk to the film's production designer Louise Schabas about the role of architecture in film, and more. How to use existing brutalist sets to create an illusory city? A therapeutic session after the closing credits will answer this question as well.