Lingua Franca follows the story of an undocumented, transgender Filipina woman named Olivia (Isabel Sandoval), who is the live-in caregiver for Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman residing in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Olivia’s main priority is to secure a green card to stay in America, but when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Eamon Farren), issues involving identity, civil rights, and immigration troubles threaten Olivia’s very existence.
This love story between a Filipina caregiver and a Russian-Jewish slaughterhouse worker is both written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Isabel Sandoval (Señorita, Apparition), who also starred in the film.
- Starring : Isabel Sandoval / Eamon Farren
- Genre : Drama
- Country : United States / Philippines
- Language : English / Tagalog
- Director : Isabel Sandoval
- Distributor : JHR Films / ARRAY Releasing
Lingua Franca movie
Lingua Franca release date
- October 2, 2019 : Germany (Hamburg Film Festival)
- October 9, 2019 : UK (London Film Festival)
- October 16, 2019 : Philippines (QCinema International Film Festival)
- November 10, 2019 : Sweden (Stockholm International Film Festival)
- November 12, 2019 : USA (Hawaii Film Festival)
- November 14, 2019 : USA (San Diego Asian Film Festival)
- November 17, 2019 : USA (AFI Fest)
- November 24, 2019 : France (Paris Chéries Chéris Film Festival)
- July 1, 2020 : France
- August 26, 2020 : USA (internet)
Lingua Franca cast
- Isabel Sandoval as Olivia
- Eamon Farren as Alex
- Lynn Cohen as Olga
- Lev Gorn as Murray
- Megan Channell as Milla
- Mark Nelson as Roman
- P.J. Boudousqué as Andrei
- Ari Barkan as Emil
- Ivory Aquino as Trixie
- Shiloh Verrico as Maggie
- Andrea Leigh as Daria
- Matthew James Ballinger as Man in Bar
- Leif Steinert as Matthew
- Deema Aitken as Boris
- Brett Bartholomew as Bartender
Lingua Franca had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Venice Days sidebar in 2019 and was the first film directed by and starring a trans woman of color to screen in competition. It was the first Filipino film in main-competition at the BFI London in its 63-year history. Lingua Franca is also an official selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. The film will stream exclusively on Netflix on August 26, 2020.
Sandoval’s Lingua Franca won Grand Prize for Feature Film at the Chéries-Chéris (Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) 2019. It also won Best Performance by Male or Female, Adult or Child, Individual or Ensemble in Leading or Supporting Role for Isabel Sandoval at the Young Critics Circle, Philippines 2020. Lingua Franca also received 10 nominations from different film festivals in different parts of the globe.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Lingua Franca holds an approval rating of 67% based on 9 reviews.
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