'Lingua Franca': Meet Isabel Sandoval, Eamon Farren, the late Lynn Cohen and rest of the cast of the Netflix drama
When 'Lingua Franca' debuted at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival, it created waves as the first film directed by and starring an openly trans woman of color to screen in competition. Isabel Sandoval's third narrative feature 'Lingua Franca' is "novelistic yet intimate, an unflinchingly candid chronicle of a disempowered woman's political and sexual awakening."
The movie tells the story of an undocumented Filipino transwoman named Olivia who works as a caregiver to Olga, an elderly Russian woman, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. When she runs out of options to attain legal status in the US, she becomes romantically involved with Olga's adult grandson Alex in the pursuit of a marriage-based green card. And that's exactly when issues around identity, civil rights and immigration threaten Olivia's very existence.
The movie releases on Netflix on August 26, 2020, by Ava DuVernay's ARRAY Releasing. But meet the cast before it hits the streaming site.
Isabel Sandoval as Olivia
Sandoval also turns screenwriter and director for the movie. The New York-based Filipina filmmaker has produced, written, and directed two full-length features, including the Filipino-language 'Señorita' in 2011, which premiered in competition at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland and was nominated for Best Picture by the Young Critics Circle of the Philippines. The movie had also won the Emerging Director Award at the 2012 Asian-American International Film Festival.
Her second feature film, 'Apparition' is a period drama about cloistered Filipino nuns during the Marcos regime. The 2012 project was widely acclaimed in its Philippine theatrical release and won a number of international awards, including the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NetPAC) Award at the 2012 Hawaii International Film Festival as well as the Audience Award at the 2013 Deauville Asian Film Festival in France.
Lynn Cohen as Olga
Cohen plays the role of the elderly Russian woman who is in Olivia's care. The actress is known for her role as Magda in the HBO series 'Sex and the City', which she also played in the 2008 film of the same name and its 2010 sequel, and for portraying Mags in 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'. Her roles in 'The Vigil' and 'God Friended Me' are also well known. Cohen died earlier this year on February 14, 2020 in New York.
Eamon Farren as Alex
Farren plays the role of Olga's adult grandson Alex who develops a romantic relationship with Olivia. She's in pursuit of a marriage-based green card, but what about him? The Australian actor is known for his work in 'X: Night of Vengeance' and 'Chained'. It was for his role as Richard Horne in the 2017 revival of 'Twin Peaks' that Farren gained recognition.
Farren had once stated in an interview he always knew he wanted to be an actor. "I can't remember a time when I didn't watch a movie and think, 'That's what I want to do'... Growing up, people said you have to have a plan B. I never felt that, I always thought, nah, this is what I'm going to do." He had credited actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman as his primary influences and inspiration.
He has won the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) award for Best Guest Or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama in 2015 for his role in the television film 'Carlotta'. Apart from that, he's also known for 'Winchester', 'Harmony' and 'The ABC Murders' and 'The Witcher'.
