Film translation is every translator’s dream. And RPK’s translators are no exception. And just like in the movies, our dream came true! First, we translated synopses for the Zolotoy Vityaz film festival. Later, we provided simultaneous interpretation during the Canadian Film Festival in Moscow.
The Australian Embassy approached RPK in 2009. Its department for culture wanted us to translate subtitles for the annual Australian Film Festival. Over three years, we translated more than 20 movies into Russian.
2009 Festival
● Ten Canoes (2006)
● The Magic Pudding (2000)
● Siam Sunset (1999)
● Amy (1997)
● Storm Boy (1976)
● Razzle Dazzle (2007)
2010 Festival
● Dirty Deeds (2002)
● Unfinished Sky (2007)
● The Boys (1998)
● Suburban Mayhem (2006)
● Love Serenade (1996)
● Romulus, My Father (2007)
● My Mother Frank (2000)
● Walking on Water (2002)
● The Black Balloon (2008)
2011 Festival
● Australian Rules (2002)
● Better than Sex (2000)
● The Tracker (2002)
● Radiance (1998)
● Bran Nue Dae (2009)
● Breaker Morant (1980)
● Two Hands (1999)
● Year of the Dogs (1997)
Not only did working on these movies test our skills in translating dialogue, but it also forced us to flex our poetry chops. Some of the films were musicals, others had characters who wrote poems.
In addition to movies, RPK has also translated a short book about Australia into Russian.
The Australian Film Festival was held by the Australian Embassy in Russia in 2003–2011. Films produced in Australia were screened with Russian subtitles in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Minsk.
A Technical Solution to a Legal Problem
The festival organizers only bought the rights to screen the films not to produce their official translations. This is why we couldn’t simply insert the subtitles into the movies, as per common practice.
An original solution had to be found to help non-English-speaking audience understand the dialogue. A horizontal banner was stretched beneath the screen and the subtitles were projected onto it. The greatest challenge was to synchronize the subtitles with the original dialogue. Our interns were tasked to project matching the subtitles during the screenings — and they did a great job.
Russian Translation Company provided the banner-projector-intern package in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Minsk.
Like all good things, the festival came to an end all too fast. But we managed to preserve and further develop our experience in movie translation.
A Trusted Supplier
We are masters of the word, after all!