The Translator: Screening and talk
As part of the MFA Degree Show Afgang 2025, you are invited to a screening of the short film The Translator by Nivetha Balasubramaniam on Wednesday, 28 May at 5 PM, followed by a conversation between artist Nivetha Balasubramaniam and art historian Olivia Turner. After the talk, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions about the film.
Note: The conversation will be in Danish.
The Translator follows Naina, a young girl who is forced into an adult role when she becomes the bridge between her sick mother and a healthcare system riddled with structural bias.
The film is part of the MFA Degree Show Afgang 2025 but will also be screened in our cinema this evening, where the conversation will take place.
Olivia Turner has written the following essay about the short film: www.idoart.dk/blog/etniske-smerter
No reservation required. Free admission to Kunsthal Charlottenborg every Wednesday from 17.00-20.00.
Olivia Turner is an art historian and researcher currently working on a forthcoming book on post-internet art. She is part of the Frieze New Writers program and her work explores post-phenomenology, performance art, digital practices, and the potentials of the Symbiocene. She holds an MA in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art (2023) and previously studied Visual Cultures: Curation and Materialism at Goldsmiths, University of London (2022). She earned her BA in History of Art from the University of Copenhagen (2019–2022).
The Translator follows Naina, a young girl who is forced into an adult role when she becomes the bridge between her sick mother and a healthcare system riddled with structural bias. When her mother’s complaints are dismissed as ‘ethnic pain’, Naina confronts the racism present in the Danish healthcare system. Denmark’s translator fee policy has had fatal consequences, with documented cases where miscommunication led to loss of life. More than a film, The Translator is a call for political change, exposing the real-world impact of institutionalized racism in healthcare. It has been screened at the Danish Parliament, on national television (DR Aftenshowet) and for medical students and hospital staff, earning a medical award for its societal impact. Nivetha Balasubramaniam draws on her own experiences as a child of Tamil immigrants, blending South Asian and Western cinematic influences to craft socially conscious, visually compelling narratives. Inspired by Indian cinema’s ability to balance difficult themes with hope, she brings a distinctive storytelling approach to Danish film. Presented here in an exhibition format within Afgang 2025, The Translator invites viewers to engage critically with the structures shaping access to healthcare and justice.
