Kokomo City

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. 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.

A panel discussion/Q&A will follow the screening.

Keynote Speaker: D. Smith, Director, Kokomo City

Panelists:
D. Smith, Director, Kokomo City
Justin Ducharme, Film Director, Screenwriter, Curator
Rabbit Richards, Performance Poet; Systems Change Coordinator, PACE Society
Kit Rothschild, Co-Executive Director, PACE Society
Victoria Thomas, Assistant Professor of Media and Public Engagement in the School of Communication, SFU
Angela Wu, Executive Director, SWAN
Moderator: Tara Lyons, Professor of Criminology, KPU