LINGUA FRANCA

Philippines

SPECIAL SECTION

Director: Isabel Sandoval
Year: 2019
Duration: 95′
Language: VOSE / VOSC
Genre: Drama

Olivia is a “paperless” Filipino transgender woman who fears deportation. She works as a caregiver for Olga, a Russian Jewish grandmother, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, but is not clear about her future. Olivia is left with no options for obtaining a residence permit in the USA, because the American she is paying in secret to avoid her persecution no longer wants to be her accomplice. Unexpectedly, she begins a relationship with Alex, Olga’s grandson, with whom she hopes to resolve her situation, until it is discovered who she really is.

Isabel Sandoval is a Filipino filmmaker based in New York who is recognised as being particularly unique among Filipino filmmakers of the current generation. She has produced, written and directed three feature films, including Lingua Franca (2019), a drama about immigration set in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. She is the director of this production and also the lead actress.


SCREENING

November 2020
Available online on FILMIN