Kokomo City: D. Smith’s Impressive Debut, Black Trans Sex Workers–Winner of 2 Awards in Next Section (Sundance Film Fest 2023)

Kokomo City is a rare entry in the queer nonfiction genre.  It does not focus solely on the trauma of marginalized people (specifically Black trans women, who are murdered at alarming rates in this country).

The film is so dynamic that the juror handing out awards in the Next section, Madeleine Olnek, called it “the funniest movie that has ever played Sundance.”

“In real life, trans women are funny. And we’re sad, and we’re sexy, and we have body parts that are our body parts. It’s time to embrace that. Enough with the fortresses that are built around us, keeping us from fully joining society,” she said.

Smith endured quite a lot to deliver the film.  She is a singer-songwriter and a Grammy-winning music producer for artists like Lil Wayne, Andre 3000 and Billy Porter.

But following her transition, she couldn’t secure housing or employment, she revealed in her Sundance acceptance speech.

Smith said she “started to transition and lost everything” in the span of two years. “Having dear friends, close friends and strangers in New York to let me sleep at their house, it helped me a lot. I’m a true testament that if you believe in someone and you can help them, you should do it.”

Gay Directors, Gay Films? By Emanuel Levy (Columbia University Press).

Critics praised the ability of Kokomo City to show why entrenched ideas of masculinity and gender roles make trans and their lifestyle so threatening in mainstream culture.

The film revolves around Atlanta’s Koko Da Doll and Liyah Mitchell and New York’s Daniella Carter and Dominique Silver.

Kokomo City premiered January 21 at the Egyptian Theater. The same day, Magnolia Pictures announced it had acquired distribution rights to the project and Smith was signed by CAA.

“There is no way we’re going back,” Smith said when asked if Hollywood has finally reached the trans tipping point. “We are coming from behind a curtain that was never lifted for us. It’s showtime.”

Prior to Kokomo City, Smith blazed a trail as a cast member on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop.

Her documentary will next screen at the Berlin Film Festival, prior to release. Harris Doran, Bill Butler and Smith produced. Hillman Grad’s Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani served as executive producers, alongside Stacy Barthe and William Melillo.