导演：D·史密斯
编剧：无
主演：Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell and Dominique Silver
制片人：D·史密斯、哈里斯·多兰、比尔·巴特勒
摄影：D·史密斯
类型：纪录长片
时长：73分钟
完成时间：2023
对白语言：英语
地区：美国
制片公司：Magnolia Pictures International

Director:D. Smith
Screenwriter: None
Cast: D. Smith, Harris Doran, Bill Butler
Producer: Sol Ye, Anita Gou, Sam Intili
Cinematographer: D. Smith
Genre: Documentary
Length: 73min
Year: 2023
Dialogue: English
Region: USA
Production Company: Magnolia Pictures International

《科科莫城》由曾两度获得格莱美提名的D·史密斯执导，讲述了生活在纽约和佐治亚州四位黑人跨性别性工作者的故事，这看似简单的任务却非常艰巨。影片以黑白镜头拍摄，大胆地展现了这些女性的生活现状，以及她们坦诚得令人震惊的讲述。《科科莫城》将日常生活与尖锐的社会评论相融合，挖掘出沉睡已久的真相。史密斯和她的拍摄对象不加过滤、不加掩饰、不做任何自我介绍，不拘泥于纯洁和礼貌，打破了常规的真实标准，展现了令人耳目一新的原始和脆弱。

Directed by two-time Grammy nominee D. Smith, KOKOMO CITY takes up a seemingly simple mantle — to present the stories of four Black transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia. Shot in striking black and white, the boldness of the facts of these women’s lives and the earthquaking frankness they share complicate this enterprise, colliding the everyday with cutting social commentary and the excavation of long-dormant truths. Accessible for any audience, unfiltered, unabashed, and unapologetic, Smith and her subjects smash the trendy standard for authenticity, offering a refreshing rawness and vulnerability unconcerned with purity and politeness.

D·史密斯，制作人、歌手和作曲家，曾两度获得格莱美提名，纪录片《科科莫城》是她的第一部电影作品。

D. Smith is a two-time Grammy nominated producer, singer, and songwriter and is now making her film debut as a director of the documentary KOKOMO CITY.

我的第一部电影作品《科科莫城》粗砺、前卫而又罕见，讲述的是黑人跨性别女性探索社群与自身之间二元对立的生活，这个长久被回避的敏感话题，终于占据舞台中央。由于传统价值的束缚或随处可见的暴力，许多黑人孩子依然在恐惧与困惑中成长，有时这甚至导致了他们的死亡。在开始这个项目之前我联系了5位导演，询问他们是否愿意帮助拍摄这个项目，他们都拒绝了。于是我买了一台摄影机和一个漂亮的镜头，决定自己拍摄，没有助理、灯光师、剪辑师，只有真实的影像。我想制作一部能吸引非酷儿群体的影片。在构思影片的时候，我意识到存在着大量我称之为“红毯叙事”的跨性别讲述，强硬的公关团队让跨性别女性穿上华丽的礼服，让她们像选美皇后一样发言。但这并不是我们的真实经历，我想看到不一样的东西，我想感受一些未经篡改的东西，与我经历相符的东西，我们都能在其中看到自己的东西，没有规则和法律将我们区隔。我想打破一些墙。在这部影片中，我得以分享四位跨性别性工作者的私人生活，她们从未公开露面，我想为她们提供像我们一样说话的自由。不用担心政治，不用管自己是否化了妆，只需讲述自己的故事，我希望能将这些经历人性化。在因为枪支暴力事件失去了我的姐妹Koko Da Doll（她也是影片中的主角）之后，某种更强烈的紧迫感一直萦绕我心中。这也验证了我在这部影片中与每一位女性对话的核心目的：展示并证明跨性别女性是多么美丽而脆弱。

My debut film KOKOMO CITY is a raw, edgy but rare look into the lives of black transgender women as they explore the dichotomy between the Black community and themselves. A conversation that’s been avoided for many, many years has now taken center stage. So many of our Black children grow up afraid and confused because of traditional values or admissible violence against them. Sometimes leading to death. Before starting this project, I reached out to 5 directors asking if they would help film this project, they all said no. I went out and bought a camera and a nice lens and filmed it myself. No assistant, no lighting person, no editor. Just the vision of a truth. I wanted to create a film that people outside of the LGBTQ+ community could be drawn to. At the time of KOKOMO CITY’s conception, there was a lot of transgender content with this narrative I call the “red carpet narrative.” It’s when a fierce PR team puts a trans woman in a fabulous gown and has her speak like a pageant finalist. That’s not our real experience. I wanted to see something different. I wanted to feel something untampered with. Something that looks like my actual experience. Something that we can all find ourselves in. Something without all the rules and laws that separate us as people of color. I wanted those walls down. In this film, I was able to share the private lives of four transgender sex workers who are never represented publicly. I offered the girls freedom. Freedom to talk like us. Look like us. Don’t worry about the politics. Forget about makeup. Don’t worry about calling your glam squad today. Just tell your story. I wanted to humanize the transgender experience. After losing participant and sister Koko Da Doll to gun violence, a greater sense of urgency loomed. It also validated the core purpose of speaking with each woman in this film. To show and prove how beautiful but vulnerable trans women are.