Kokomo City

In this wildly entertaining and refreshingly unfiltered DIY documentary, transgender filmmaker and former award-winning music producer D. Smith picks up the camera, while passing the mic to four Black trans sex workers in Atlanta and New York City – Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver – who unapologetically break down the walls of their profession. Shot in glorious black & white, the film vibrates with sexual energy and hard-earned wisdom, as well as 90s nostalgia, harkening back to the golden era of hip hop music videos. The four leads, one of whom lost her life to gun violence last year, are a true revelation, launching an X-rated charm attack at the camera that twists and turns around their statuesque bodies, leaving little to the imagination. But there’s nothing made up or premeditated about this raw and honest depiction of trans lives that cuts right through the glamour and never looks away from heartache. Executive produced by Lena Waithe, “Kokomo City” won the Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Berlinale’s Audience Award in the Panorama Documentary section.