‘Lingua Franca’, a Filipino film directed by Isabel Sandoval brought home the “Best Narrative Feature” Award at the recently held Bentonville Film Festival.
The film also made history during the Venice International Film Festival Venice Days in 2019 as it became the first to feature a transwoman from the minority.
The story revolves around a Filipino transwoman named Olivia (Isabel Sandoval), a caregiver to Olga (Lynn Cohen) who is a Russian senior citizen in New York City. Despite her best efforts to acquire a green card, her plans are disrupted when she falls for her client’s grandson, Alex (Eamon Farren). This lead her to fear for her safety and status as an immigrant.
Before “Lingua Franca”, Sandoval also had acting and writing roles in “Señorita” (2011), which won her the Emerging Director Award at the 2012 Asian-American International Film Festival, and “Aparisyon” (2012) that won several awards from international competitions.
In addition to the lead role, Sandoval is also credited as the producer, director and editor of the internationally recognized film.
“Lingua Franca” will exclusively premiere on Netflix this August 26.
Photo Credit: Facebook/Lingua Franca
