This Friday, March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, a day to honor the contributions and existence of our trans community - from artists to colleagues to friends and family. At a time when transness is being vilified, visibility alone is clearly not enough - and indeed not always possible. As champions of preserving artistic expression, we believe that supporting authentic voices yields the ability to broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us. Supporting trans storytelling is critical work we do as a nonprofit all year round at Sundance. Join us in uplifting underrepresented artists by making a donation today here.
One of the most exciting things about starting each year with the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. And while we learn a lot from the art that these storytellers share with us, there's always more we can learn about these filmmakers as people. This year, we decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our Backstory questionnaire!
KOKOMO CITY may be the first film D. Smith has ever made, but she's been nurturing her creativity since she was a child. My imagination has gotten me in a lot of trouble, she says. I could almost feel or taste whatever I thought. At times I couldn't remember if something truly happened or it was something I had imagined. Having an outlet to now create film is so fulfilling! It's literally a dream come true.
Smith certainly put her creativity to work in KOKOMO CITY (winner of both the NEXT Innovator Award and the Audience Award: NEXT, presented by Adobe at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival), for which she served as director, producer, editor, and cinematographer. The documentary, filmed in stunning black and white, puts the spotlight on four Black transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia. With honesty and humor, the four women each offer insights about their identities as Black women, as trans women, as sex workers, and more, exploring how all the facets of their true selves defy societal expectations.
After its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, KOKOMO CITY was acquired by Magnolia Pictures; be on the lookout for its theatrical release later this year. Below, discover why Smith feels her documentary is urgent, how her own transition inspired her to make the film, and what advice she would give to aspiring filmmakers.
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This Friday, March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, a day to honor the contributions and existence of our trans community - from artists to colleagues to friends and family. At a time when transness is being vilified, visibility alone is clearly not enough - and indeed not always possible. As champions of preserving artistic expression, we believe that supporting authentic voices yields the ability to broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us. Supporting trans storytelling is critical work we do as a nonprofit all year round at Sundance. Join us in uplifting underrepresented artists by making a donation today here.
