A Translator

Set in Havana during the late 1980s, *A Translator* follows Malin, a dedicated professor of Russian literature whose life is upended when he is abruptly reassigned by his university. Tasked with working as a translator at a hospital repurposed for children arriving from the Soviet Union, Malin finds himself at the center of a harrowing humanitarian mission: treating victims of radiation sickness following the Chernobyl disaster. As he bridges the communication gap between the medical staff and the suffering children, Malin forms a profound bond with a young patient named Alexi, offering comfort through storytelling. However, the emotional weight of his assignment begins to fracture his domestic life. At home, Malin and his wife, Isona, struggle to navigate the mounting pressures of Cuba’s economic crisis, facing food shortages and the instability of raising their young son, Javi. Caught between his crumbling personal life and the grim reality of the hospital, Malin becomes increasingly isolated. As he witnesses the physical and psychological toll of a catastrophe these children did not choose, he finds himself trapped between languages, cultures, and the fading socialist ideals he once taught. This poignant drama explores the heavy burden of duty and the devastating human cost of geopolitical turmoil, painting a powerful portrait of a man forced to reconcile his reality while the world around him shifts.