COMING SOON
Universal Language
زبان جهانی
by Matthew Rankin
AU May 22, 2025 | NZ 2025
SHORTLISTED: 97th Academy Awards, Best Int. Feature
WINNER: CANNES FILM FEST, Directors Fortnight WINNER: MIFF, Bright Horizons Award
WINNER: TIFF, Best Canadian Discovery Award
WINNER: THESSALONIKI INT. FILM FEST, Best Feature
WINNER: STOCKHOLM INT. FILM FEST, Best Director
WINNER: GENEVA INT. FILM FEST, Reflet d’Or 2024
WINNER: NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW, Top 5 Int. Films
In a mysterious & surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran & Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising & mysterious ways.
Gradeschoolers Negin & Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice & try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments & historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother.
This Life Of Mine
(Ma Vie Ma Gueule)
by Sophie Fillières
New Zealand French Film Festival Aotearoa 2025
Winner of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival SACD Best Screenplay award and opening night film of the Director’s Fortnight section, Sophie Fillières' THIS LIFE OF MINE is a sharply funny and deeply resonant take on midlife crises. With her signature wit and humour, Fillières delivers a tender portrait of a woman navigating the chaos of family, work, and the absurdities of aging.
Barberie "Barbie" Bichette (Agnès Jaoui, Place Publique, AF FFF19) is a woman under siege: her kids cringe at her quirks, her soul-crushing copywriting job barely inspires her, and her body feels like it’s rebelling. Caught between hot flushes and existential dread, Barbie stumbles through the comedy of life at 55.
On the brink of her birthday, Barbie faces a choice: conform to society’s dismissive view of aging women or break free. What follows is a journey of rediscovery as she escapes to the Scottish Highlands to reclaim her spirit and sense of self. Equal parts poignant and funny, THIS LIFE OF MINE reminds us that midlife isn’t the end of the story—it’s just the beginning of a new chapter.