ARRAY Releasing announces the acquisition of the acclaimed drama Lingua Franca, directed, written, produced, edited by, and starring Isabel Sandoval.
Lingua Franca broke ground as the first film directed by and starring a trans woman of color to screen in competition at 2019’s Venice International Film Festival Venice Days program. It then went on to bag the top prize at the Bentonville Film Festival for “Best Narrative Feature.”
The film follows the story of a live-in caregiver Olivia (Sandoval) who is also an undocumented Filipina trans woman. She is hired by Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Despite working hard to secure a green card to stay in America, Olivia’s plans are compromised when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Eamon Farren). Issues around identity, civil rights, and immigration then threaten Olivia’s very existence.
Lingua Franca will premiere on Netflix on Wednesday, August 26, as well as in select cities across America theatrically.
“The release of Isabel Sandoval’s third film is beautifully timed to enter the national conversation at an unprecedented moment of cultural reckoning for many, especially as it relates to the rights and dignity of trans people around the world,” said ARRAY President Tilane Jones. “Ms. Sandoval’s introspective lens provides a depth and intimacy to her storytelling that is rarely embraced on screen. ARRAY is proud to embrace Lingua Franca and we look forward to sharing this meaningful work widely.”
(ALSO READ: Film About Transgender Filipina Immigrant to Premiere at Venice Film Festival’s ‘Venice Days’)
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