FDCP’s PeliKULAYa International LGBTQIA+ Film Fest Officially Kicks Off with Isabel Sandoval’s Critically-Acclaimed Film ‘Lingua Franca’

June 10, 2022

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JUNE 10, 2022 — This year’s PeliKULAYa International LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and co-presented by TBA Studios, officially kicks off with the Philippine theatrical premiere of Isabel Sandoval’s award-winning and critically-acclaimed film Lingua Franca on June 10 in Cinematheque Centres across the Philippines for only PHP 200.

The opening program with the theme “Pantay-Pantay, Iba’t Ibang Kulay” served the official opening event of the month-long PeliKULAYa 2022 followed by the special screening of the opening film Lingua Franca by Sandoval, which is under the Spectra Pelicula section of the PeliKULAYa lineup. The opening program will have a cocktail reception with guests from partner embassies and organizations with limited slots for the public held at 6:30 pm at the Cinematheque Centre Manila.

“Every year we are on the lookout for the best films that we can offer to our audiences, and for this year’s PeliKULAYa, we hope that this film, Lingua Franca, which is made by Filipina filmmaker Isabel Sandoval, will reflect the significance of Pride Month, not only for the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, but also as Filipinos. We ask for the support of audiences and aspiring filmmakers to celebrate with us by participating in the activities in this year’s lineup,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

Sandoval is a Filipina filmmaker who is currently based in New York. In 2019, she became the first transgender woman of color to compete at the Venice Film Festival with her third feature film Lingua Franca. She has earned the title “Queen of Sensual Cinema” through her films that explore the intimate stories of women while navigating life, identity, and agency in the time of global changes.

Lingua Franca centers on Olivia (played by the director herself), an undocumented Filipina transwoman caregiver to an eldery Russian woman and becomes romantically-involved with the latter’s grandson while seeking US citizenship via marriage.

The film won Best Narrative Film at the 2020 Bentonville Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the 2020 Queer Lisboa - Festival Internacional de Cinema Queer. It was nominated for Best Film (Venice Days) and Queer Lion at the 2019 Venice. For her performance, Sandoval was named Best Actress at the 18th International Cinephile Society Awards, and at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival.

The nationwide premiere will be at the Cinematheque Centre Manila, Davao, Iloilo, Negros, and Nabunturan on June 10. Tickets will be priced at PHP 200. Audiences can register for its first screening schedule by clicking this link https://bit.ly/LinguaFrancaJune10PreRegistration. Registrants will receive payment instructions via email, and slots will only be confirmed upon receipt of payment.

For more information and updates on the month-long PeliKULAYa celebration, follow www.facebook.com/fdcp.pelikulaya, www.twitter.com/pelikulayafest, and www.instagram.com/pelikulayafest.