Join the party!

Come hang out with us for a FREE #CanFilmDay advance screening of UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, Matthew Rankin‘s surrealist quirky comedy that earned its place as Canada’s official entry to the 2025 Academy Awards, and was shortlisted in the Best International Film category.

National Canadian Film Day (#CanFilmDay) is a massive, coast-to-coast-to-coast salute to Canadian cinema. On Wednesday, April 16, theatres across the country will be opening their doors, dimming the lights, and firing up their projectors for totally free – yes, FREE – screenings of Canadian films. Stand up for Canadian filmmakers and the industry by sitting down – and watching a great Canadian film!

In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and 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. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.

Structured like a Venn diagram – at the point of confluence between Jacques Tati and Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker Trilogy – UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE is at once a diary film, an absurdist city symphony and a welling-up of confinement-era emotion exploring the mysterious interzone where one person ends and the rest of the world begins. An elusive, half-remembered dream of home, solitude, our responsibilities to others and the wild turkeys that haunt us.

National Canadian Film Day is presented by Reel Canada. Uniting our nation through film!

“An off-kilter creation that feels like the wacko offspring of Aki Kaurismäki and Abbas Kiarostami’s cinemas.” (The Daily Beast)

“The everyday wonder of late Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami combined with the formal whimsy of Wes Anderson best describes this amusing and affecting second feature from Winnipeg’s Matthew Rankin.” (Toronto Star)

“Universal Language is a magnificent film, one that feels warm and familiar even as we realize just how startlingly original it is.” (Vulture)

Wednesday, April 16
Doors 6:45 pm | Movie 7:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Register for FREE Tickets HERE

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE “Une Langue Universelle” (Matthew Rankin, 2025 / G / 89 mins / Persian with English subtitles) An absurdist triptych of seemingly unconnected stories find a mysterious point of intersection in this tale set somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran.

*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes not accepted as this is a FREE event.
*We recommend reserving your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available in-person at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability).
*Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.

*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds or exchanges.