Episode 1: Universal Language
For the podcast’s maiden voyage we discuss Universal Language, by Matthew Rankin, Ila Firouzabadi, and Pirouz Nemati, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2024
COMPREHENSIVE SHOW NOTES:
1:13 - Jackie and Charlene’s IMDB Pages
1:56 - Angelika Film Center
3:22 - The Twentieth Century
5:13 - High Maintenance
7:00 - The Grand Budapest Hotel
8:00 - Asteroid City, The Royal Tenenbaums and the precocious children and signage of Wes Anderson
10:23 - Brechtian Theater and drawing attention to artifice
12:00 - Highlighting Winnipeg from a local perspective
13:30 - Agnes Varda, Sean Baker and ‘Film at the Margins’
16:00 - John M. Chu and In The Heights
17:40 - Matthew Rankin’s two collaborators: Pirouz Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi
20:58 - Jordan Peele’s Us and the production design influence of vintage malls
24:00 - Winnipeg's Iranian Community
https://www.instagram.com/the_icmb/?hl=en
26:00 - Taste of Cherry
27:00 - Iranian coming of age films that influenced Universal Language
28:40 - The 180 Degree Rule that Matthew Rankin intentionally breaks
30:43 - The connections of all the characters in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia
31:25 - Macguffin
38:34 - Tim Horton’s Donut Shop
42:37 - Insanely steep stairs at The Angelika
45:45 - Adaptation and the postmodern solipsism of having Nicolas Cage play Charlie Kaufman
47:08 - (Some Of) Matthew Rankins Short Films (1) (2)
50:50 - Public Sector Office
52:05 - Films nominated to be considered for the 2025 Oscars Best International Feature AKA the Eurovision of the Film World
52:39 - David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds and Crimes of The Future
53:06 - Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
53:22 - Cannes Quinzaine Directors Fortnight
54:33 - Palm Springs
55:11 - Most Americans Now Watch TV with Subtitles
55:38 - Bong Joon Ho, Parasite, Snowpiercer, Okja and critical/audience response to each film
56:10 - The Angelika’s 1990’s Lobby
57:39 - Ladybird
57:57 - The Lobster
58:40 - Rating the seats of Metrograph, Quad Cinema, and Film Forum
1:00:35 - Oscilloscope Labs, Neon, A24 and Bleeker Street
1:00:34 - Found Footage and Summer of Soul
1:04:37 - Sarah Polley: Canadian Treasure, Women Talking and Getting Hit In The Head With A Fire Extinguisher
1:05:17 - Guy Maddin, Winnipeg Filmmaker
1:05:25 - My Old Ass and shooting in Muskoka, Canada
1:06:50 - Red Rooms
1:08:55 - Additional Theaters Universal Language is playing at around NYC
Mamaroneck Cinema - NOT in Long Island, actually in Westchester - my mistake
1:09:05 Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018) Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (Also 2018)
