Isabel Sandoval

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

Early life and education

Isabel Sandoval was born in 1982 in Cebu City in the Philippines. She is an only child raised by a single mother. Her love for film began at the age of four, when her mother took her to a pre-war movie palace to watch a Filipino slapstick comedy.

She studied Psychology at the University of San Carlos, where she graduated summa cum laude. She then moved to New York City to pursue her MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. Not long after she finished her MBA, she got together with her cinematographer roommate to shoot the short version of Señorita, her debut feature.

Career

Feature Films Isabel Sandoval has produced, written, and directed three feature-length films. In 2011, Sandoval directed her first feature, 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. This film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and was nominated for Best Picture by the Young Critics Circle of the Philippines.

In 2012, she directed the film Aparisyon (Apparition), starring actresses Jodi Sta. Maria and Mylene Dizon, about a convent of nuns in a remote area of the Philippines in 1971, just before the declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos. In 2017, Apparition was screened at MoMA as a part of the “A New Golden Age: Contemporary Philippine Cinema” series alongside works of other Filipino filmmakers, Lav Diaz and Brillante Mendoza. In the film, Sandoval plays an undocumented Filipino trans woman who falls in love with the adult grandson of the elderly woman for whom she is working as a caregiver. She began her gender transition when Trump was first elected to the white house, and she stated that Lingua Franca came to her during that period. Although it’s not an autobiographical film, it captures the emotional state she was in at the time. The film won the award for best narrative feature at the Bentonville Film Festival, and was released by ARRAY and streamed on Netflix. and at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival. Like Lingua Franca, Shangri-La deals with forbidden love and racial prejudice.

Sandoval is also developing a drama for FX, Vespertine, In March 2021, Tropical Gothic won the VFF talent highlight award at the Berlinale, worth 10,000 euros towards its production and according to her recorded interview with GMA News, has plans to be screened at either Cannes, Venice or Berlin.

Influences and themes Sandoval was inspired by films that depict impossible love relationships. She has stated that she enjoyed watching Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai's film, In the Mood for Love (2000), for its style and profound melancholy. Its concept of emotional destination was a profound theme that influenced her. She sought to express illicit emotions that were distinctive, singular, and complex as she had not seen in films before. Sandoval consistently explores the themes of marginalization and the intersectionality between complex identities and socio-political issues. As she progresses as a filmmaker, she realizes that she is more inclined to use this medium to shed light on the female experience. In her interview with Vogue Philippines, she stated, "I'm drawn to women protagonists that are disempowered in some way [...] who in the bigger picture, might seem powerless but in their realm, with their relationships, they try to assert themselves somehow as a way to hold on to their dignity."

In 2020, Ava DuVernay's ARRAY, acquired Lingua Franca and led to its streaming on Netflix and screening in selected theaters. in developing the styles of work. Other films which she has cited as influencing her were: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) by the director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, News from Home (1977) by Chantal Akerman, and Klute (1971) by Alan J. Pakula.

Filmography Short film

Executive Producer Anino (2025)

Feature film

Television

Awards and nominations Best Screenplay

Best Achievement in Film Editing

Best FilmLingua Franca Nominated

Nominated

Nominated 2013 Best Screen Play (shared with Jerry Garcio) Best Achievement in Film Editing (shared with Jarrold Tarog) Aparisyon 2012Best Film Best Performance by Male or Female, Adult or Child, Individual or Ensemble in Leading or Supporting Role

Best Director Best Lead Performance Best Screenplay Best EditingLingua FrancaNominated Nominated Nominated Won Nominated