Shadow and Act has an exclusive preview of the upcoming acclaimed documentary, Kokomo City.
The film is helmed by two-time Grammy-nominated producer, singer and songwriter D. Smith, who is making her feature film directorial debut with the doc, which debuted earlier this year at Sundance.
Check out the exclusive clip below:
Here’s an official description:
In the wildly entertaining and refreshingly unfiltered documentary KOKOMO CITY, filmmaker D. Smith passes the mic to four Black transgender 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. Holding nothing back, the film vibrates with energy, sex, challenge, and hard-earned wisdom. This vital portrait, edited and shot by Smith in bold black and white, is her feature directorial debut.
D. Smith filmed the documentary herself after being turned down by several directors.
“My debut film KOKOMO CITY is a raw, edgy but rare look into the lives of black transgender women as they explore the dichotomy between the Black community and themselves. A conversation that’s been avoided for many, many years has now taken center stage,” Smith said in a statement. “So many of our Black children grow up afraid and confused because of traditional values or admissible violence against them. Sometimes leading to death.
She added, “Before starting this project, I reached out to 5 directors asking if they would help film this project, they all said no. I went out and bought a camera and a nice lens and filmed it myself. No assistant, no lighting person, no editor. Just the vision of a truth.
Smith “wanted to create a film that people outside of the LGBTQ+ community could be drawn to.”
“At the time of KOKOMO CITY’s conception, there was a lot of transgender content with this narrative I call the ‘red carpet narrative.’ It’s when a fierce PR team puts a trans woman in a fabulous gown and has her speak like a pageant finalist. That’s not our real experience,” Smith explained.
She continued, “I wanted to see something different. I wanted to feel something untampered with. Something that looks like my actual experience. Something that we can all find ourselves in. Something without all the rules and laws that separate us as people of color. I wanted those walls down. In this film, I was able to share the private lives of four transgender sex workers who are never represented publicly. I offered the girls freedom. Freedom to talk like us. Look like us. Don’t worry about the politics. Forget about makeup. Don’t worry about calling your glam squad today. Just tell your story. I wanted to humanize the transgender experience. After losing participant and sister Koko Da Doll to gun violence, a greater sense of urgency loomed. It also validated the core purpose of speaking with each woman in this film. To show and prove how beautiful but vulnerable trans women are.”
Kokomo City is executive produced by Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani, Stacy Barthe, and William Melillo, with Harris Doran and Bill Butler serving as producers alongside Smith.
D. Smith previously made history as the first trans woman cast on a primetime unscripted TV show when she had a season-long stint on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.
