PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF CUBA

In 1989, academics at the University of Havana’s Russian language department are suddenly and mysteriously relieved of their teaching duties. It turns out that Soviet doctors are struggling to treat the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that happened three years prior – and Malin (Rodrigo Santoro), a professor of Russian Literature, and his colleagues are urgently needed to act as translators for a large number of patients being flown to Cuba for treatment.

A Translator takes a look at a little-known chapter in Cuban history, when the Caribbean nation opened its highly-regarded medical facilities to Russian patients suffering from radiation-related diseases, many of which were young children. This powerful film is Cuba’s official submission to the recently-renamed Best International Feature Film category for the 2020 Oscars.