LINGUA FRANCA follows an undocumented Filipina trans woman Olivia (Isabel Sandoval) after she has secured a job as a live-in caregiver for Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman 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 around identity, civil rights and immigration threatens her very existence.
Written & Directed by Isabel Sandoval
Starring Isabel Sandoval, Eamon Farren, Lynn Cohen
Production Company Tal Vez Productions, Two Three Five
Distribution Array + Netflix
AWARDS
Venice Days - International Competition
BFI London Film Festival - International Competition
American Film Festival Wroclaw - Competition
International Film Festival of India Goa - World Panorama
Festival International du Film de Mons - International Competition
Palm Springs Film Festival
Melbourne Queer Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival
Hamburg International Film Festival
Vinokino Film Festival
Everybody’s Perfect LGBT Film Festival
Gender Bender Film Festival
Slovak Queer Film Festival
Thessaloniki Film Festival