KVIFF interpreter Helena Koutná: As audiences understand more, they’re thinking, Is she going to get that right?
To regular visitors to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, interpreter Helena Koutná is an extremely familiar face. Koutná has been appearing on stage alongside some of the world’s biggest movie stars at the festival for two decades now and is known for her excellent work and ability to cope smoothly with any situation. When we caught up just prior to this year’s KVIFF, I asked what had initially drawn her to interpreting.
“When I was at grammar school I was seriously considering what I should do. I liked music. I used to play to piano – I wasn’t terribly good, but I thought I might enjoy teaching.
“And languages – that was something that I did from a very early age. I started about eight. I started with Russian then added English and a little bit of German. I liked it.
“But then I liked maths. So it was a big question. But I was at a school that sort of specialised in languages, and I did more languages than was standard, so I decided to give it a go.”
How did you get into interpreting at film festivals and other such events? As well as at Karlovy Vary, I’ve seen you at for example One World.
“Karlovy Vary came from Artlingua, which is the agency that has been providing interpreting services at Karlovy Vary for many years now.
“I was working for them and one year they said, Do you want to come? And I did and really liked it.
“That was at the time when we were still interpreting films – so that was really exciting.”
When was that?
“I think this year is my 20th festival. So that was 20 years ago.
“And until the time when Karlovy Vary introduced subtitles, we would sit in the booth in the cinema with headphones on and interpret the entire film.”
Wasn’t that awfully difficult?
“It was awfully difficult [laughs]. Especially if you didn’t have the script in advance.”
Is that possible to do? Can you just extemporaneously interpret a whole film?
“It’s possible. It may not be perfect. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand what people are saying. Or if you do it from subtitles – it can be really fast.”
Did you ever have any particular problems or bad experiences with that?
“I think it was from Turkmenistan perhaps, or Tajikistan, a bizarre language which I really, really do not speak. Nobody does, I think [laughs].
“I had the script. It was really short and rather poetic. I read it and thought, OK, it’s quite straightforward, nothing difficult.
“Because of the way the schedule works, it was going to be screened another time, but another interpreter was going to do it.
“So I said, OK, I’ll leave the script for the next interpreter, because I’ve read it, I’m fine.
“I arrived at the cinema and for the first 10 minutes, I was just staring at the screen. Because there were white subtitles on white desert sand.
“So I just waited. I think everybody could see what was happening. We were trying to quickly get the script over, but we found out that the other interpreter had already taken it away. Yeah [laughs].”
But now you I guess only interpret what people say on stage. How does that work differ from other interpreting that you do?
“It is very different. Because there are very different expectations. And you have a very limited amount of time to do what you’re doing.
“It really needs to be instant. It needs to be really quick.
“I’m sure you know the feeling: The audience is waiting for the film – OK, it’s nice to see the director, it’s nice to see the stars, but they say something and then comes the interpreter! They have to listen to it for the second time.
“So you need to try and do it quickly. Sometimes what they say is funny or witty, there are jokes – that’s really, really difficult.
“Sometimes there are words that you just don’t expect. Obviously you try to have a very wide vocabulary, but you can’t know everything.
“That can be really challenging: trying to do it nicely, quickly and in the same tone as the speaker.”
I presume you have many people who you’ve interpreted for again and again at various festivals. Are there any who stand out for you as being particularly likable or memorable?
“But there are many, many people who are really nice. Most of the great film stars are very nice. Most directors or actors that are good are very nice.
“One particularly nice experience was with Antonio Banderas. He was really, really nice on stage.
“What often happens is the speaker says something. They say it in little chunks and the interpreter interprets.
“When they finish their last bit and they know it’s their last bit, they step away from the microphone – and the interpreter is left there alone in front of their own microphone. It’s such a silly feeling to be honest – it doesn’t feel good.
“And he did it as well. But he immediately realised what he had done, and he came back to join me. That was really nice.”
Do you ever get nervous? For example, I know you interpreted for Richard Gere at the outdoor cinema in Karlovy Vary, for I presume many thousands of people.
“Sometimes it is possible; sometimes you do get nervous. But it is my job, I’ve been doing it for a long time and I know what to expect.
“But obviously if you are suddenly standing in front of six or seven thousand people and you know that they want their bit of fun, or that they are expecting something, you really feel the responsibility, also towards the person for whom you are interpreting – it’s their moment, and you want it to be good, you want it to be perfect, you don’t want to spoil it for them.
“So sometimes, yes, there are some butterflies in your stomach. But you have to get over it.
“Sometimes it actually helps – it brings out the adrenalin, I suppose, and you concentrate more and basically just try and do your best.”
Generally, how do you think Vary has changed in your years of going there?
“It’s genuinely a festival for people, for film lovers, people who come and see the films.
“I don’t see that much of the business side and I’m not quite sure whether there’s much – I don’t think so, to be honest. People really come there for the films.
“It’s been like that for all the time that I’ve been going there. That’s great about it.”
And I’m sure that’s something you hear from your clients – that they may find those audiences in Vary warmer or livelier…
“You are right, yes. And they enjoy the possibility of actually engaging with their audiences and having Q&As.
“A lot of them actually ask for Q&As, even if they are not scheduled, because they see the atmosphere there and they want to talk to people.”
Have you had any disasters?
“Yes, I’ve had a couple occasions when I just couldn’t for the life of me remember a certain word. And that really feels bad [laughs].
“You’re just standing there and there’s a gap and everybody’s watching you and waiting for you to say something – and you can’t remember the word.
“So you say something and you know it sounds awful [laughs]. Yes, it’s roughly like that.”
Have you noticed a change in the level of comprehension on the part of audiences? I’ve seen you interpreting for people and the guest will make a joke and everybody laughs – but then you are duty-bound to interpret that joke.
“Yes, that’s certainly true. A lot more people understand English especially – you can tell that.
“It’s a question then whether you are needed or not.
“So it’s actually quite good to see that even though people laugh when the speaker says the joke, for example, the same people or other people laugh again when you say it in Czech. That’s quite nice to see as well.
But does it make your job harder? Do you feel more impatience from the audience than, say, 20 years ago?
“Maybe not impatience – but maybe you feel that they are watching you. They are waiting to hear what you are going to say.”
They’re thinking, How would I interpret that?
“Yes, or, Is she going to get it right? Or, My God, that was tricky, what is she going to do about that?
“That doesn’t help [laughs].”
Do you often find yourself editing what people say, simply making it shorter so you can get through it more quickly?
“Generally speaking, in consecutive interpreting you don’t really say every word. It’s shorter, and it should be shorter.
“So in that sense yes, but otherwise no, not really.”
What do you do if your client is just rambling? Or if they don’t make any sense? I’m not asking you to name any names – I’m just curious what you do in that situation.
“You try and stop them. By looking at them. By maybe even lightly touching them. Sometimes they notice, sometimes they don’t.
“Then, you are not on your own. You also have the host, the person who is introducing the guest. They can help.
“And if they go on for a long time, you just use many pages in your notebook and try and keep it in your head.”
But what if it’s just nonsense? That must happen sometimes.
“That can happen. Especially if it’s a non-native speaker and their English is not good enough, so they say something but they can’t quite express themselves clearly.
“You have to try and think about they’re saying and what it might possibly mean.
“This is something that we quite often do. We are used to it.”
It’s a festival, of course, and people stay up late and have a good time. Do you ever find that especially early in the day, the next day after the night before, some guests can be a little bit the worse for wear when they appear before audiences?
“But they generally do really well. Because they want to be there – they want to come and talk to the audience.”
How does Vary compare for you to other festivals or arts events you work at?
“It’s big. But I have to say that the atmosphere is quite similar.
“You mentioned One World. Many people come to see films at the One World festival and they are just enthusiastic audiences.
“And I think that’s something that these festivals have in common.
“I also work at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival and it’s the same there: packed cinemas, a lot of people coming to see the films because they really want to.
“Also the Iranian Film Festival in Prague, which I have been involved with for the last five years.
“It’s surprising how many people actually want to come and see the films. They make the festival nice and lively and the atmosphere is really good, thanks to that.”
