Matthew Rankin’s sophomore is a unique vision of Canada’s diverse multicultural landscape where he reimagines Winnipeg as a vibrant, multilingual utopia that sees languages merge in unexpected ways by inventively employing both Farsi and French as the official languages.

Through a series of loosely connected vignettes, the story revolves around various eccentric characters navigating their day. Among them are two sisters who discover money frozen in the ice, a teacher struggling with chaos in his classroom, and even Rankin playing a melancholic version of himself.

Blending elements of Iranian and Canadian cultural idiosyncrasies, Rankin creates a whimsical world that feels both familiar and bizarre (reminiscent of filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Jacques Tati) while also drawing from the absurdist tradition of Iranian cinema. In the process, the filmmaker transforms the city into a surreal space, ultimately offering a playful yet profound commentary on the possibility of a truly universal means of expression.

– Anu Rangachar