Our neighbor to the north had a solid run in the International Feature Film at the Oscars for the front half century of this 21st century. Not so much in the second. In 2003, The Barbarian Invasions was Canada’s first and thus far only winner in the race. A nomination followed three years later for Water. From 2010-12, they went three for three in the quintet of hopefuls with Incendies, Monsieur Lazhar, and War Witch. Since then, the nation has not been represented in IFF’s final five.

Universal Language was initially unveiled at Cannes in early summer. From director Matthew Rankin, the absurdist comedy stars Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Soban Javadi, and Pirouz Nemati. Canada announced this week that it’s their latest at bat for Academy consideration.

The pic definitely has its ardent admirers and it stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Canadians will probably need to campaign hard for it to make the cut. They’ve not even made the shortlist since 2016. However, the strong reviews should mean this is their best chance in some time. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…