Keeping The Magic Alive
“Translation is a kind of transubstantiation” writes Anne Michaels in her novel Fugitive Pieces, “the poet moves from life to language, the translator moves from language to life [both] try to identify the invisible, what’s between the lines, the mysterious implications. . .”
Translation can knock the life out of a documentary. In an intimate close up of two lovers whispering to each other — the language of heavy sighs and meaningful glances — translation often stumbles into the frame and proceeds to shout at the audience, drowning out the lovers’ words, loudly telling us how moving we’d find this if only we understood what was going on.
For just over a year I’ve been trying to help documentaries move from one language to another, to keep their magic, not just their meaning, alive. I run an online platform and podcast called Radio Atlas, which transforms innovative audio documentaries into subtitled films. It’s long baffled me…
