Oddball Canadian comedy, “ Universal Language ” was named the winner of the Bright Horizons Award on Saturday at the Melbourne International Film Festival . Other top prizes went to went to Latvian director Gints Zibalodis’ animated ecological fantasy, “Flow” and to Jaydon Martin, creator of docu-fiction hybrid “Flathead.” “It has been such a thrill to see the enthusiasm and outright cinematic maximalism with which Melbourne audiences have taken to the MIFF program this year – across 280 films, we’ve seen audiences celebrate incredible new Australian filmmaking with us, discover the year’s cinematic highlights, explore unseen corners of the history of film and meet over 130 attending guests and artists,” said MIFF artistic director Al Cossar.
Set in Winnipeg, whose beige tones echoes the color schemes of Iran, “Universal Language” devises a new narrative that draws on the story lines of multiple Iranian film classics. Directed by Matthew Rankin, it premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes this year. “One movie represented all of the facets of the Bright Horizons Award; a film whose cultural specificity transcends borders; whose cinematic playfulness is matched equally by its sensitivity; and whose very form is in conversation with cinema past, present and future.
This is why the Bright Horizons Award goes to ‘Universal Language’ by Matthew Rankin,” said the jury in a statement. The Special Jury Award went to Latvian directo.