On July 18, the Women’s Steering Committee (WSC) meeting featured the discussion, An Indie Feature Case Study with Director Isabel Sandoval. In a conversation moderated by Director/WSC Activities and Events Committee Co-Coordinator Marie Jamora (The Cleaning Lady), Sandoval discussed the journey of her breakout independent feature, Lingua Franca, a film about a transgender undocumented Filipina who falls in love in Brooklyn. The film has been screened at nearly 100 international film festivals, was nominated for the Film Independent Cassavetes Spirit Award.
Talking about the project from conception to screen and beyond, Sandoval revealed how her film came to be, both practically and creatively. She also disclosed what it was like to bring her feature to audiences and how making her film has helped further shape and inform her career as a Director.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
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 Isabel Sandoval
In addition to Lingua Franca, Sandoval’s directorial credits include features Señorita, which earned her the Emerging Director Award at the Asian American International Film Festival and Apparition, which won the Lotus Audience Award at the Deauville Asian Film Festival; and episodes of Under the Banner of Heaven, Tell Me Lies and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Her upcoming feature, Tropical Gothic, will be produced by Big Beach. Sandoval joined the DGA in 2021.
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 Marie Jamora
Jamora’s directorial credits include the cult classic Filipino coming of age film What Isn’t There (Ang Nawawala); and episodes of Queen Sugar, Fire Country, The Resident, All Rise, Fantasy Island, Good Sam, GREASE: Rise of the Pink Ladies, and The Cleaning Lady. Her short film, Flip the Record, won the Grand Jury Award for “Best Narrative Short” at Urbanworld and was shortlisted for the 90th Academy Awards. Jamora joined the DGA in 2021 and serves as one of the Co-Chairs of the WSC Squad. |
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ABOUT THE COMMITTEE:
The Women's Steering Committee (WSC) was created to advance the professional interests of its members, and to heighten their visibility and career opportunities in the entertainment industry. The WSC currently promotes diversity through sponsoring net-working events, screenings and seminars, and fosters relationships between the members to provide support, mentoring and networking opportunities. The WSC’s current Co-Chairs are Tara Miele, Shawn Pipkin-West and Liz Ryan.