Rating: R | Runtime: 73 minutes
Release Date: July 28th, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Director(s): D. Smith

A lot of us are secrets to many powerful people.

I’d be hard-pressed to think of a better cinematic opening to a 2023 release than D. Smith’s Kokomo City. It’s not an action scene or some elaborate camera set-up. It’s simply Liyah Mitchell recounting a sex work story about what happened after she discovered one of her clients had a gun lying next to him on the bed. Between her storytelling prowess, Smith’s over-the-top reenactments, and the overall comedic timing, you cannot help getting caught up in the absurdity, suspense, and danger until Mitchell pauses, looks at us, and delivers her punchline.

It’s the perfect introduction to a candid documentary that maintains this tone throughout despite its dark realities. Laughter is the best medicine, after all. Without it there could only be tears. It’s why we laugh during horror films—our fear and uncertainty forcing our bodies to react in ways that seem incongruous to the subject matter despite being necessary for survival. And that’s exactly what these women are doing: surviving. Mitchell, Daniella Carter, Dominique Silver, and the late Koko Da Doll are trying to exist in a world that exploits their bodies in private while refusing to treat them like humans in public.

Smith lets them riff with anecdotes, wisdom, and lectures. Whatever they want to get off their chests and make known to lovers and haters alike. Mitchell is the entertainer. Koko and Silver provide their experiences from the two different ends of the sex work spectrum. And Carter simply provides the truth by dissecting the intersectionality of Black, trans, and poverty in a country indoctrinating its children to believe “normal” is the opposite of all three. The words these women share are crucial to not only putting their truth on record, but also educating against propaganda and comforting those too afraid to follow in their footsteps.

Add insight from Black men speaking on masculinity, culture, and attraction—including the continued adventures of Lø gradually unpacking his own intrinsic prejudices to accept his desires—and Kokomo City takes the conversation in all angles to give this marginalized community a voice in a way that empowers, contextualizes, and calls out the hypocrisy that ultimately makes it so they must fear for their lives every day. Their courage to never back down and live the vibrant lives they deserve is the benchmark cis people should strive for since it’s their insecurities and hate that forces these women to become the inspirations they are.

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Daniella Carter in KOKOMO CITY, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.