Smith’s amateur filmmaking lends itself to the story and it seems that the lack of technical training allowed her to experiment and create a distinct style. She films at low angles to give the sense that we are at a sleepover with the girls in the film and the energy is that of telling slumber party stories. Furthermore, the film mostly takes place in their own homes to create an intimate feeling with the subjects.

Smith's experience as a successful music producer is evident as the soundtrack, most of which is by her, complements what we see visually without drowning out the important dialogue. Every moment has a song accompanying it that provides mood and energy. Some moments even have sound effects that add a touch of comedic relief — something unexpected, but pleasant. The subjects in the film are naturally humorous and Smith makes sure to include moments of their joy throughout the film to show that their lives are not completely wrought with hardships as an outsider might assume. Despite the seriousness of the topic and the grief that comes up, the viewers aren’t left with a feeling of despair when the credits roll.

My favorite scene shows one of the subjects, Daniella Carter, lying in her bathtub and speaking passionately about the struggles she faces in the Black community as a transgender Black woman. In a similar scene, Dominique Silver explains the loss that Black mothers may feel when their sons turn out to be trans women by comparing it to the death of a Black man. These scenes stand out because they emphasize the nuances of being transgender in the Black community and show a queer story that is rarely told and given attention. All of the women seem open and honest which shows that Smith having similar experiences allows her to reach deeper points of conversation because the subjects feel they can trust her to represent them best.

Recently the topic of sex worker representation in film has become a hot topic with Sean Baker’s film Anora sweeping at the Oscars this year. Baker himself has made a film on the experiences of Black transgender sex workers, Tangerine, which came out in 2015. Baker’s success at making and marketing films about sex workers may be greatly aided by the fact that he is a white man who has never participated in sex work. However, the mainstream success of Anora and the awards that Kokomo City received at Sundance and other prestigious film festivals1 makes me wonder if there is a new opening for sex workers to have a place in movie storytelling.

As Smith teases a new film project on her Instagram stories, my excitement grows to see where she can take her inventive style and knack for storytelling. I can only hope that she continues to produce works as important as Kokomo City and I find it hopeful that a Black trans woman is earning her due credit in the world of film.

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But today I got inspired as I was writing an application essay for a student symposium at a film festival. The prompt was to write a 700-word essay about a film that speaks to you or whatever and I was like “wait this isn’t even that crazy…” Like I probably speak 1000+ words about every movie I watch. Plus, I already have some writings lying around in my drive that I could edit and upload here for archival purposes.

This is also part of my effort to be more eloquent and thoughtful about the films I watch especially because this is all I want to do in life — watch movies, talk, and write about them.

I hope that I can do a good job at all of this and maybe have a couple of people tune in while I’m at it.

So, with that being said… welcome to the club.

Cheers,

Zoe