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Kokomo City
Film poster
Directed by	D. Smith
Produced by	D. Smith Harris Doran Bill Butler
Cinematography	D. Smith
Edited by	D. Smith
Production companies	Couch Potatoe Pictures Hillman Grad Productions
Distributed by	Magnolia Pictures
Release dates	January 21, 2023 (2023-01-21) (Sundance) July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28) (United States)
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$118,728

Kokomo City is a 2023 American documentary film, directed, produced, and edited by D. Smith. It explores the lives of four Black trans women and their experiences as sex workers in New York and Georgia. Lena Waithe serves as an executive producer.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and was released in theaters on July 28, 2023, by Magnolia Pictures.

Plot

The film explores the lives of Daniella Carter, Dominique Silver, Koko Da Doll, and Liyah Mitchell in New York and Georgia through interviews and re-enactments with actors. During the film, Carter, Silver, Doll, and Mitchell discuss their experiences as Black trans women and as sex workers. Smith also interviews Black men.

Production

D. Smith had a successful career in the music industry, producing songs for Lil Wayne, Ciara, Keri Hilson, Billy Porter and André 3000. However, when she began to transition, she was essentially forced out of the industry, and ended up broke and homeless. Smith had the idea for a documentary film revolving around sex work, after wondering what would happen if she had to turn to it to sustain herself, and those who had no other options. Smith was still homeless when she began working on the project, with a camera being purchased by a host of where she was once staying, and a laptop by a producer.

To find subjects for the film, Smith turned to Instagram and YouTube. Smith wanted her subjects to feel comfortable, telling them to talk as if they were talking to her and shooting at lower angles to make it look as if they were at a sleepover. Lena Waithe and her producing partner, Rishi Rajani boarded the film as executive producers after having been blown away after viewing the film.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2023. Shortly after, Magnolia Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film. It also screened at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2023, where it won the Panorama Audience Award, and SXSW on March 13, 2023. It was released in theaters on July 28, 2023. It is scheduled to be broadcast and released on Paramount+ with Showtime on February 2, 2024.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 76 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Kokomo City is a rousing docu effort that illuminates trans lives within a world of adverse circumstance and invariable optimism." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "This doc rocks, using music to set the tempo for its snappy mix of head-turning talking heads, tongue-in-cheek reenactments and outside-the-box supporting visuals." Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "these women share their experiences with familial rejection, masculine sexual anxiety and a retaliatory world threatened by the dissolution of the gender binary. Violence - both real and anticipated - is the most obvious thematic thread, but competing for space and attention is beauty." Mey Rude of Out praised the film as an example of Black trans women "getting to be their unfiltered selves on-screen...and not hold anything back."

In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Rechtshaffen writes, "At once bracingly candid and buoyantly energetic, the first feature by Grammy-winning trans singer-songwriter D. Smith clearly earns the trust of its personable quartet, who require little prodding to share their experiences and philosophies as they navigate decidedly nontraditional paths." Wendy Ide wrote for a review in The Observer, "For all the exaggerated winks in the music choices and provocative shots of beautifully lit buttocks, the film is an open and celebratory space in which the women can tell their stories. Some of them are hilarious, others bruising, all are painfully forthright about the all-too-real dangers they face." According to Teo Bugbee in The New York Times, "Smith's approach grants respect to women who are often dehumanized, even in their most intimate settings." Writing for Collider, Lisa Laman observed that 'Kokomo City' flourished as a work of subverting cinema norms by eschewing traditional documentary standards of othering marginalized voices on-screen, noting 'This is a movie where the personal stories of Mitchell, Carter, Silver, and Doll guide the feature along above all else. It’s a welcome departure from other documentaries about trans individuals and sex workers that largely concentrated on folks outside of those fields.'

The film received the Panorama Audience Award at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and also won the NEXT Audience and Innovator Awards at the 2023 Sundance Festival.

Accolades

Koko Da Doll

On April 18, 2023, Rasheeda Williams, better known as Koko Da Doll, was found dead from a gunshot wound in Southwest Atlanta. Smith said Williams "will inspire generations to come and will never be forgotten." Other tributes came from her costars, one of the film's producers Harris Doran, and the Sundance Film Festival. After her death, the film was dedicated to her.

Notes

1. Tied with 20 Days in Mariupol.
2. Tied with Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later and The Stroll.

References

1. "Kokomo City". Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
2. "Kokomo City (2023)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
3. "Kokomo City (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
4. ^ Bugbee, Teo (July 27, 2023). "'Kokomo City' Review: Dispatches From the Down Low". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
5. ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (2023-02-16). "'Kokomo City' Review: A Striking Kaleidoscopic Portrait of Black Trans Women". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
6. ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (4 August 2023). "Review: In 'Kokomo City,' trans sex workers, rowdy and risky, get a compassionate profile". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
7. Donnelly, Matt (January 30, 2023). "Breakout Director D. Smith, Who 'Lost Everything' When She Transitioned, Just Conquered Sundance". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
8. Azzopardi, Chris (February 15, 2023). "Homeless after the music business rejected her as trans, D. Smith is back". Out in Jersey. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
9. Dixon, Delania (January 20, 2023). "Filmmaker D. Smith's Kokomo City Gives Transgender Women a Real Voice". Ebony. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
10. Macnab, Geoffrey (February 22, 2023). "Berlinale Panorama interview: Kokomo City by D Smith". Business Doc Europe. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
11. Mullen, Pat (January 21, 2023). "D. Smith Talks KOKOMO CITY and Trans Representation". POV. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
12. Carey, Matthew (March 1, 2023). "Breakthrough Director D. Smith On Her Sundance And Berlin-Winning 'Kokomo City,' An Unfiltered View Of Black Trans Women". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
13. Jackson, Angelique (February 3, 2023). "How Two Sundance-Winning Films Forecast the Future for Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Production Company". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
14. D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 7, 2022). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Set With Ukraine War, Little Richard, Michael J. Fox, Judy Blume Docs; Pics With Anne Hathaway, Emilia Clarke, Jonathan Majors; More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
15. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 22, 2023). "Magnolia Bags WW Rights To Sundance Docu 'Kokomo City' On Black Transgender Sex Workers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
16. ^ Roxborough, Scott (February 25, 2023). "Berlin: 'Kokomo City,' 'Sira' Win Panorama Audience Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
17. "Kokomo City". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
18. Goodfellow, Melanie (January 18, 2023). "Berlin: George MacKay, Béatrice Dalle, Fan Bingbing, Sandra Hüller & Joan Baez Movies Head To Fest". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
19. "Kokomo City". South by Southwest. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
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21. Carey, Matthew (December 18, 2023). "Paramount+ And Showtime Set Streaming And Linear Debut For Oscar Contender 'Kokomo City,' D. Smith's Stunning Directorial Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
22. "Kokomo City". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
23. "Kokomo City". Metacritic. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
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26. ^ Ide, Wendy (6 August 2023). "Kokomo City review – the perilous, gutsy lives of four Black trans sex workers". The Observer. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
27. https://collider.com/kokomo-city-documentary/
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30. Scott Roxborough (25 February 2023). "Berlin: French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
31. Davis, Clayton (October 16, 2023). "Critics Choice Documentary Awards: 'American Symphony' Leads Nominations, Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' Lands Nod After Record-Setting Weekend". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
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33. Tallerico, Brian (December 8, 2023). "Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things Lead CFCA Nominations". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
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35. Rogers, Nick (December 12, 2023). "Nominations Announced for the 2023 Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards". Midwest Film Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
36. Neglia, Matt (December 17, 2023). "The 2023 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Winners". Next Best Picture. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
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39. ""The Boy and the Heron" flies high with Florida Film Critics". Florida Film Critics Circle. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
40. Lewis, Hilary (January 6, 2024). "Past Lives Named Best Picture by National Society of Film Critics". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
41. Neglia, Matt (January 12, 2024). "The 2023 Denver Film Critics Society (DFCS) Winners". Next Best Picture. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
42. Carey, Matthew (October 19, 2023). "'The 1619 Project,' 'Nothing Lasts Forever' Lead Charge As Cinema Eye Honors Announces First Round Of Documentary Nominations [Full List]". Deadline. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
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46. Kaloi, Stephanie; Roe, Mike (February 26, 2024). "LGBTQ+ Critics Awards 2024: Greta Gerwig Wins Director of the Year, 'All Of Us Strangers' Takes Top Film Prizes". TheWrap.
47. Pedersen, Erik (January 17, 2024). "GLAAD Media Awards Nominations Revealed". Deadline Hollywood.
48. Jackson, Angelique (April 20, 2023). "Kokomo City Documentary Star Koko da Doll Found Dead at 35". Variety. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
49. Thomas, Carly; Vlessing, Etan (April 21, 2023). "Koko Da Doll, Star of 'Kokomo City' Sundance Documentary, Found Dead in Atlanta". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
50. Smith, D. (7 August 2023). "'Kokomo City' Filmmaker D. Smith Honors Koko Da Doll: 'There's Something Very Divine About Her Being in This Film'". Variety. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

External links

• Kokomo City at IMDb

• 2023 films
• 2023 documentary films
• 2023 independent films
• 2023 LGBTQ-related films
• Transgender-related documentary films
• Films about trans women
• Magnolia Pictures films
• American LGBTQ-related documentary films
• Sundance Film Festival award–winning films