Way down in Kokomo… (Courtesy of Sundance Institute and Magnolia Pictures | Photo by D. Smith)

Starring: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, Dominique Silver

Director: D. Smith

Running Time: 73 Minutes

Rating: R for Unfiltered Conversations and Some Unfiltered Nudity

Release Date: July 28, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Sex workers tend to operate within the shadows of society. And for transgender sex workers, that’s even more true. But director D. Smith is pulling back the curtains on that world in the documentary Kokomo City, as she touches down in New York City and Atlanta to interview four of these ladies: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver. For a little more than an hour, they get the chance to spill as much tea as they want. No explicit detail is spared, nor should it be, if we want to get the full picture. So reserve your judgment and let go of your pearls, because they’re got plenty of stories to tell.

What Made an Impression?: Tale as Old as Time: In my 35 years on this planet, I can’t remember a time when the culture at large was more open-minded about both sex work and transgender people. Of course, there’s also been a concerted pushback against the progress of queer groups, but that resistance makes it clear just how visible they’ve become. This is all to say, I can’t imagine Kokomo City arriving in theaters anytime before now. (Although, it does feel like the sort of thing that you might have stumbled upon on HBO or Showtime at 3:00 AM 25 years ago.) Its existence is remarkable, but it treats its subject matter as unremarkably as possible. As the ladies talk about guiding their clients through taboo desires and navigating threats of violence, it’s all so matter-of-fact, and I imagine it’s always been that way for them.
Casual Intimacy: When D. Smith sat down with her interviewees, I don’t think they imagined that some random white cishet male critic would be analyzing their stories so closely. Or maybe they did! By committing their stories to a documentary, it opens up the possibility that any theoretical audiences could stumble upon them. And they seem to be okay with that. Or at least, they were comfortable enough around their director that they were willing to be open about pretty much anything without worrying about the secondary listeners. That sense of intimacy was underscored particularly for me during some footage shot at Brooklyn Bridge Park, a location I’ve run through on plenty of occasions. I certainly haven’t lived the same experiences as these ladies, but I’ve trod the same ground, and so surely have millions of others.

Kokomo City is Recommended If You Like: Talking heads, LGBTQ activism, Gossip

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Confessions