A Black trans sex worker lies on a bed. She’s being filmed in black and white. She tells of an encounter where she was about to satisfy a customer before she notices his gun next to him and, fearing for her life, grabs it. As she describes the two of them fighting for the gun in a violent tussle, she begins to explain how vigilant women in this line of work are and why they have to be. Luckily, the story ends well, with them resolving what she refers to as a misunderstanding… before they return to bed and hook up. The tone of the documentary is set by this very first interview, and it's clear from just these opening moments that whatever stories the rest of the film has to share will be honest, insightful, and filled with life by those who tell them.
Kokomo City (2023) - filmed, directed, produced, and edited by Grammy-nominated musical artist D. Smith and executive produced by Lena Waithe (The Chi, Master of None, Queen & Slim) - features interviews with four Black transgender sex workers in New York City and Atlanta (primarily Daniella Carter, Dominque Silver, Liyah Mitchell, and Koko Da Doll) in as well as with several men from the surrounding areas. This includes clientele, fellow sex worker Rich Paris’ boyfriend Xotomy, and prominent rapper/songwriter Michael Carlos Jones aka “Lo”. As much as the conversation surrounds sex work - including why people get into it and why they stay despite the dangerous individuals that can be encountered, it provides a jumping off point for many more topics.
Themes such as existing as a trans individual outside of the industry, emotional and sexual relationships, honouring Black womanhood, and even the masculinity of men who partake in sex with trans women all get their fair share of conversation. Kokomo City isn’t just an educational look at sex work - it’s an analysis of society and the weight of societal expectation. The ever-present reality that trans women have been killed during this line of work - and continue to be either through STI’s or from simply being trans - runs throughout the documentary’s 73 minutes. Heartbreakingly, Koko Da Doll was shot three months after the film's Sundance premiere - and three months before its theatrical release - giving her interviews a profound and specific air of melancholy.
Her final interview features her discussing her future. She aims to get out of the business and focus on her music career because she doesn’t see sex work as a viable lifelong career. She, like all the women featured, is aware of how oppressed she is by society, but remains optimistic. It's devastating that despite being featured in something as well received as Kokomo City, she’s ended up another statistic in the ongoing hate crimes towards trans people.
As much as this documentary is a testament to those who feature in it, and to the sex work industry as a whole, it’s also a very potent reminder of how separation and marginalisation exists withing the trans community. Whilst it’s true that we all have our share of suffering, it disproportionately affects trans women of colour. So much of the conversation seems to focus on white women like Dylan Mulvaney and Hari Nef who, whilst fantastic representatives, are unable to speak specifically about issues faced by BIPOC trans people. Documentaries about any community are vitally important for getting stories heard and for preserving history, but it’s particularly true for the marginalised of the marginalised.
Especially if that documentation outlives you.
Pictures.
Words: Beatrice Copland (she/they)
Kokomo City is currently streaming in the US on Paramount+. Find out where else you can watch it at magpictures.com/kokomocity.
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