Through this novel idea, he manages to say something profound and moving about culture and community.

From the sclerotic schoolteacher who despairs at the stupidity of his students, to the forlorn ex-bureaucrat (Rankin himself) travelling to see his mother to the guide bringing bedraggled groups of tourists around the gray and beige "sights" of the city, the stories of the friends, enemies, strangers, shopkeepers and neighbors of this Wes Anderson-style ensemble are loosely arranged around the mission of two young girls to find a way to claim an unexpected windfall: a banknote just visible beneath the frozen surface of a slippery expanse of rock-hard, Canadian-winter lake ice.

The hidden gem that is Universal Language feels like just such a wonderful discovery.

For information on the full BFF24 programme visit: www.belfastfilmfestival.org