Magnolia Pictures shared the official trailer for Kokomo City, a documentary chronicling the lives of four transgender sex workers. Featured in the film are Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver.

Directed, produced, and edited by D. Smith, Kokomo City world premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award. The film also competed at 2023 Berlin Film Festival where it won the Audience Award – Panorama Documentary Section; and will open in theaters in the US with a release date of July 28th, 2023.

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. A two-time Grammy-nominated producer, singer, and songwriter, Smith made history as the first trans woman cast on a primetime unscripted TV show.

In addition to the numerous awards, the film received rave reviews, with loudandclearreviews writing, “You will laugh a lot in Kokomo City, but this documentary is also a stark and in-depth interrogation of how societies treat trans people and gay men, as well as the stigma around having sex with a trans woman. More specifically, Kokomo City focusses on how Black communities contain such views. These discriminatory opinions, as one of the women eloquently states, stems in part back to slavery in America, adding further thought-provoking complexity to the film. There is some background given for why transgender people are shunned in Black communities – never a justification, but an explanation of sorts. Smith and Kokomo City’s characters speak with a fiery energy and a striking eloquence, ensuring the documentary remains a highly educational experience.”

Watch the official trailer for Kokomo City.