15 Facts About Isabel Sandoval

Isabel Sandoval is a Filipino filmmaker and actress who lives in the United States.

Isabel Sandoval directed the films Senorita, Aparisyon and Lingua Franca.

Isabel Sandoval directed a short film called Shangri-La as part of the Miu Miu's Women's Tales series of female-directed short films commissioned by the fashion brand.

Isabel Sandoval was born in 1982 in Cebu City in the Philippines.

In 2011, Sandoval directed Senorita, a film about a trans woman working on a political campaign and raising a young boy.

Isabel Sandoval 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.

Isabel Sandoval became the first out trans woman of color to compete at the Venice Film Festival when Lingua Franca premiered there.

Isabel Sandoval was named Best Actress at the 18th International Cinephile Society Awards, and at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival.

In 2021, Isabel Sandoval wrote and directed Shangri-La, a short film commissioned by the Miu Miu Women's Tales project which asks female directors to examine "femininity in the 21st century", releasing it in February 2021.

Isabel Sandoval is developing a drama for FX, Vespertine, and a film, Tropical Gothic, about the haunting of a Spanish conquistador in the 16th century Philippines and based on the 1972 short story collection of the same name by Nick Joaquin.

Isabel Sandoval directed an episode of the FX drama series Under The Banner Of Heaven, which aired in 2022; it stars Andrew Garfield.

Isabel Sandoval was inspired by films that depict impossible love relationships.

Isabel Sandoval has stated that she enjoyed watching Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai's film, In the Mood for Love, for its style and profound melancholy.

Isabel Sandoval sought to express illicit emotions that were distinctive, singular, and complex as she had not seen in films before.

Isabel Sandoval was mentored by Ava DuVernay in developing the styles of work.