Un Traductor, Rodrigo and Sebastián Barriuso's feature-length drama about a Russian Literature professor ordered to work as a translator for child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, has been named as Cuba’s Official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020.

The film’s protagonist, played by Rodrigo Santoro, works at the University of Havana and is called upon as the victims arrive in Cuba for medical treatment. The film was written by Lindsay Gossling and is based upon real-life events. The project was Bill Laurance’s first feature film score, following the Sundance Composer Lab at Skywalker Sound, California.

Reacting to the news on social media, Rodrigo Barriuso said, ‘The fact that Cuba has given this nod to cinema independently produced, by filmmakers living in the diaspora, is something that fills me with hope. To represent the country where I have not lived for 13 years, but that I have never stopped calling home, really is the honour of a lifetime.’

Hear Bill Laurance’s themes for Un Traductor on the Film Music page and watch the trailer for the U.S. release below.