Lingua Franca Screening and Q&A with Isabel Sandoval

Isabel Sandoval wrote and directed Lingua Franca, then cast herself in the lead. On Monday, October 5, the American Cinematheque screens the 2019 drama at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre, and Sandoval stays after the credits for a Q&A. If your list of things to do in Los Angeles leans toward small rooms and filmmakers who take questions, add this one.

The film

Sandoval plays Olivia, an undocumented Filipina trans woman who has landed a job as a live-in caregiver in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The woman she looks after is Olga, an elderly Russian immigrant played by Lynn Cohen. Olivia's priority is a green card, and she guards anything that could put it at risk.

Then she gets romantically involved with Olga's adult grandson, Alex (Eamon Farren). The relationship pulls questions of identity, civil rights and immigration right into her daily life, and the stakes for Olivia are about whether she gets to stay in the country at all.

It's a US and Philippines production, distributed by ARRAY, and it runs 84 minutes. The Los Feliz 3 is showing it as a DCP. That short running time leaves room for a real conversation afterward instead of a rushed ten minutes before the lights come up.

The Q&A

Sandoval is billed as both filmmaker and actor, which means questions can go in two directions. You can ask how she built the story, or what it was like to direct scenes she was also playing. Director Q&As are common at American Cinematheque houses. Getting the writer, the director and the lead actor in one person is not.

The listing doesn't name a moderator or say how long the talk runs. Discover Los Angeles blocks out 7 to 9 PM for the whole evening.

Tickets and getting there

• When: Monday, October 5, 2026, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
• Where: Los Feliz 3 Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
• Tickets: $10-$15
• Presented by: American Cinematheque

American Cinematheque lists general admission at $15 and member tickets at $10. Both prices include a $2 online booking fee. The Los Feliz 3 is a small three-screen theatre, so a night with the filmmaker in the room is a good one to book ahead.

The theatre sits on Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz Village, right next door to Skylight Books. If you're coming by train, the Metro B Line stops at Vermont/Sunset, about a ten-minute walk south of the theatre. Street parking on Vermont and the side streets gets tight in the evening, and some blocks are permit-only, so read the signs before you leave the car.

For more film nights and gallery openings, browse the arts and culture calendar or see what else is on our list of Things Happening In Los Angeles.