Isabel Sandoval

Isabel Sandoval is a Filipina filmmaker and actress who lives in the United States. She directed the films Señorita (2011), Aparisyon (2012) and Lingua Franca (2019). She also directed a short film called Shangri-La (2021) as part of the Miu Miu's Women's Tales series of female-directed short films commissioned by the fashion brand.

Early life and education[]

Sandoval was born in 1982 in Cebu City in the Philippines.^[1] She graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Carlos,^[2] then moved to New York City.^[3] There, she earned an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business.^[2][4] She transitioned in 2014.^[2][5]

Career[]

In 2011, Sandoval directed Señorita, a film about a trans woman working on a political campaign and raising a young boy. She played the film's protagonist, though she was not out as trans at the time, and has said that the role helped her realize her identity.^[2][3][6] In 2012, she directed the film Aparisyon (Apparition), about a convent of nuns in a remote area of the Philippines in 1971, just before the declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos.^[7][8][9] In these first two films, she was credited as Vincent Sandoval.^[2]

In 2019, she directed the film Lingua Franca, which she shot in 16 days in Brooklyn, New York, starring herself, Eamon Farren and Lynn Cohen.^[10] In the film, Sandoval plays an undocumented Filipina trans woman who falls in love with the adult grandson of the elderly woman for whom she is working as a caregiver.^[10] Sandoval became the first out trans woman of color to compete at the Venice Film Festival when Lingua Franca premiered there.^[8][10][11] The film won the award for best narrative feature at the Bentonville Film Festival, and was released by ARRAY and streamed on Netflix.^[10][11] Sandoval was named Best Actress at the 18th International Cinephile Society Awards,^[12] and at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival.^[2]

In 2021, Sandoval wrote and directed Shangri-La (filmed in two months), a short film commissioned by the Miu Miu Women's Tales project which asks female directors to examine "femininity in the 21st century", releasing it in February 2021.^[8][10][13] Like Lingua Franca, Shangri-La deals with forbidden love and racial prejudice.^[8][13] The same year, she signed with Creative Artists Agency.^[10]

Sandoval is also developing a drama for FX, Vespertine,^[10] and a film, Tropical Gothic, about the haunting of a Spanish conquistador in the 16th century Philippines.^[3][6][14] In March 2021, Tropical Gothic won the VFF talent highlight award at the Berlinale, worth 10,000 euros towards its production.^[15][16]

Styles and themes[]

Influences[]

Sandoval was inspired by the style and work of films that depict the impossible love relationship. She enjoyed watching Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai's film, In the Mood for Love (2000), for its profound melancholy. Her concept of emotional destination was the profound theme that influenced her. She wanted to express the elicit emotions that were very distinctive, singular, and also complex like no other films were made before. She learned and gotten help from her mentor, Ava DuVernay with the styles of work she has made which Sandoval pursued herself to the extent of her storytelling journey. There were other in styles in particular that influenced her was Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Then there was News from Home (1977) by Chantal Akerman, and Klute (1971) by Alan J. Pakula.

Personal life[]

As a child, she would go with her mother at a grand movie palace and watched multiple comedy films such as a Filipino version of Charlie Chaplin. From then on, the filmmaking was a drive for her to write elegant stories in film; however, she had never attended film school.

Filmography[]

Awards and nominations[]

Bibliography[]

Tauer, Kristen. "Eye: Isabel Sandoval on Directing 'Shangri-La' For Miu Miu Women's Tale'." WWD, (2021):29-. Print

Macnab, G. (2019). ‘Lingua franca’ director isabel sandoval lines up next project ‘Park lane’ (exclusive). Screen International, Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/lingua-franca-director-isabel-sandoval-lines-up/docview/2301102622/se-2?accountid=14523

How Trump's Presidency Helped Shape Isabel Sandoval's “Lingua Franca” Movie.(Broadcast Transcript). Washington, D.C: National Public Radio, Inc. (NPR), 2020. Print.

Dalton, B. (2019). Luxbox boards isabel Sandoval's venice days premiere ‘Lingua franca’ (exclusive). Screen International, Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/luxbox-boards-isabel-sandoval-s-venice-days/docview/2268074900/se-2?accountid=14523

Morgenstern, J. (2020, Aug 27). 'Lingua franca' review: Looking for love; A filipina caregiver hopes to find a husband, and thereby a green card, in isabel sandoval's touching feature. Wall Street Journal (Online) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/lingua-franca-review-looking-love-filipina/docview/2437556233/se-2?accountid=14523

Sandoval, Isabel. (20xx). "Meet Isabel Sandoval", Passerbuys: real recommendations, real people. http://www.passerbuys.com/profiles/isabel-sandoval, Biography.

References[]

External links[]

• Isabel Sandoval at IMDb
• Isabel Sandoval at Black Dog Films