Kokomo City

2023 • Documentary

This film is no longer available.

About the film

Directed by two-time Grammy nominee D. Smith, KOKOMO CITY takes up a seemingly simple mantle — to present the stories of four Black transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia. Shot in striking black and white, the boldness of the facts of these women's lives and the earthquaking frankness they share complicate this enterprise, colliding the everyday with cutting social commentary and the excavation of long-dormant truths. Accessible for any audience, unfiltered, unabashed, and unapologetic, Smith and her subjects smash the trendy standard for authenticity, offering a refreshing rawness and vulnerability unconcerned with purity and politeness.

Director

D. Smith

Producer

Bill Butler, Harris Doran

Awards & recognition

2023 Sundance Film Festival

Winner | Next Innovation Award

2023 Sundance Film Festival

Winner | Audience Award Next

Berlinale

Winner | Audience Award for Best Documentary

What people are saying

Make no mistake, Smith announces wordlessly from behind the camera: I have arrived to change the game.

Jude Dry

IndieWire

Smith shot, directed, and edited “Kokomo” almost completely on her own, demonstrating an often-breathtaking cinematic eye for a first-time filmmaker.

Gregory Ellwood

The Playlist

Gallery

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