diff --git a/modeltranslation/fields.py b/modeltranslation/fields.py
index 7ef596c..56bd285 100644
--- a/modeltranslation/fields.py
+++ b/modeltranslation/fields.py
@@ -270,6 +270,15 @@ class TranslationFieldDescriptor(object):
         loc_field_name = build_localized_fieldname(self.field.name, get_language())
         setattr(instance, loc_field_name, value)
 
+    def meaningful_value(self, val, undefined):
+        """
+        Check if val is considered non-empty.
+        """
+        if isinstance(val, fields.files.FieldFile):
+            return val.name and not (
+                isinstance(undefined, fields.files.FieldFile) and val == undefined)
+        return val is not None and val != undefined
+
     def __get__(self, instance, owner):
         """
         Returns value from the translation field for the current language, or
@@ -287,13 +296,20 @@ class TranslationFieldDescriptor(object):
         for lang in langs:
             loc_field_name = build_localized_fieldname(self.field.name, lang)
             val = getattr(instance, loc_field_name, None)
-            if val is not None and val != undefined:
+            if self.meaningful_value(val, undefined):
                 return val
         if mt_settings.ENABLE_FALLBACKS and self.fallback_value is not NONE:
             return self.fallback_value
         else:
             if default is NONE:
                 default = self.field.get_default()
+            # Some fields like FileField behave strange, as their get_default() doesn't return
+            # instance of attr_class, but rather None or ''.
+            # Normally this case is handled in the descriptor, but since we have overridden it, we
+            # must mock it up.
+            if (isinstance(self.field, fields.files.FileField) and
+                    not isinstance(default, self.field.attr_class)):
+                return self.field.attr_class(instance, self.field, default)
             return default
 
 
diff --git a/modeltranslation/tests/__init__.py b/modeltranslation/tests/__init__.py
index 9249104..ef59e84 100644
--- a/modeltranslation/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/modeltranslation/tests/__init__.py
@@ -671,6 +671,36 @@ class FileFieldsTest(ModeltranslationTestBase):
         inst.file_de.delete()
         inst.image_de.delete()
 
+    def test_empty_field(self):
+        from django.db.models.fields.files import FieldFile
+        inst = models.FileFieldsModel()
+        self.assertIsInstance(inst.file, FieldFile)
+        self.assertIsInstance(inst.file2, FieldFile)
+        inst.save()
+        inst = models.FileFieldsModel.objects.all()[0]
+        self.assertIsInstance(inst.file, FieldFile)
+        self.assertIsInstance(inst.file2, FieldFile)
+
+    def test_fallback(self):
+        from django.db.models.fields.files import FieldFile
+        with reload_override_settings(MODELTRANSLATION_FALLBACK_LANGUAGES=('en',)):
+            self.assertEqual(get_language(), 'de')
+            inst = models.FileFieldsModel()
+            inst.file_de = ''
+            inst.file_en = 'foo'
+            inst.file2_de = ''
+            inst.file2_en = 'bar'
+            self.assertIsInstance(inst.file, FieldFile)
+            self.assertIsInstance(inst.file2, FieldFile)
+            self.assertEqual(inst.file.name, 'foo')
+            self.assertEqual(inst.file2.name, 'bar')
+            inst.save()
+            inst = models.FileFieldsModel.objects.all()[0]
+            self.assertIsInstance(inst.file, FieldFile)
+            self.assertIsInstance(inst.file2, FieldFile)
+            self.assertEqual(inst.file.name, 'foo')
+            self.assertEqual(inst.file2.name, 'bar')
+
 
 class ForeignKeyFieldsTest(ModeltranslationTestBase):
     @classmethod
diff --git a/modeltranslation/tests/models.py b/modeltranslation/tests/models.py
index daa6c89..3116ab6 100644
--- a/modeltranslation/tests/models.py
+++ b/modeltranslation/tests/models.py
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ class FallbackModel2(models.Model):
 class FileFieldsModel(models.Model):
     title = models.CharField(ugettext_lazy('title'), max_length=255)
     file = models.FileField(upload_to='modeltranslation_tests', null=True, blank=True)
+    file2 = models.FileField(upload_to='modeltranslation_tests')
     image = models.ImageField(upload_to='modeltranslation_tests', null=True, blank=True)
 
 
diff --git a/modeltranslation/tests/translation.py b/modeltranslation/tests/translation.py
index 60180b4..c817a89 100644
--- a/modeltranslation/tests/translation.py
+++ b/modeltranslation/tests/translation.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ translator.register(FallbackModel2, FallbackModel2TranslationOptions)
 ########## File fields testing
 
 class FileFieldsModelTranslationOptions(TranslationOptions):
-    fields = ('title', 'file', 'image',)
+    fields = ('title', 'file', 'file2', 'image',)
 translator.register(FileFieldsModel, FileFieldsModelTranslationOptions)