Kokomo City
Post-film panel discussion with guests from The Theater Offensive!
In the wildly entertaining and refreshingly unfiltered documentary Kokomo City, filmmaker D. Smith passes the mic to four Black transgender sex workers in Atlanta and New York City – Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver–who unapologetically break down the walls of their profession. Holding nothing back, the film vibrates with energy, sex, challenge, and hard-earned wisdom.
This vital portrait, edited and shot by Smith in bold black and white, is her feature directorial debut. A two-time Grammy-nominated producer, singer, and songwriter, Smith made history as the first trans woman cast on a primetime unscripted TV show. Executive produced by Lena Waithe, Kokomo City won the Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Berlinale’s Audience Award in the Panorama Documentary section.
About Daniella Carter
Daniella Carter is a lifelong advocate for LGBTQ+ youth. She has given speeches at local, national and international events, including panel discussions with political leaders and dignitaries. She spoke at TED Talks Live and also delivered talks during TEDxABQ and TEDxMidAtlantic. She has appeared on MSNBC, Good Morning America, ABC News, the New York Daily News, People Magazine, Forbes.com and in the New York Times. She was featured in the Emmy award-winning MTV & Logo documentary, Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word. Daniella’s message transcends boundaries of race, class, and gender, focusing on the intersection of identities. Carter was recently the subject of an episode of Robin Roberts’ Thriver Thursday series.
In August 2020, she launched ‘Daniella’s Guestbook, in partnership with creative agency SpecialGuest.co ‘Daniella’s Guestbook, a site and Instagram channel, spotlights the work of Black creators to unlock employment opportunities in advertising and creative industries for them and other BIPOC creators.
About Giselle Byrd
Giselle Byrd is the newly appointed Executive Director of The Theater Offensive, making her the first Black trans woman to lead a regional theatre company in the United States. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, she is passionately continuing and amplifying the theater’s mission for uplifting and elevating the work of queer and transgender artists of color and LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies. With over ten years of experience, holding multiple roles in talent management, production, casting, script coverage, brand partnerships, and fundraising, Byrd has used her expertise to help elevate both talent and brand collaborations. Aiming to inspire members of her community to find their voices and showcase their greatness, Byrd has represented clients who work in the entertainment industry, social justice activism, and digital media. As a producer, she holds the honor of being the first transgender woman to be accepted into Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program. Her documentary film debut, “Giselle’s Story,” directed by Susan O’Brien, was accepted into the Imagine This International Women’s Festival. Her subsequent film, "When We Arrive As Flowers," executive produced by Alexandra Billings, was screened in numerous film festivals throughout the country during the 2022-2023 season, continuing her personal mission of advocating and educating a diverse array of communities on the beauty of transgender life, through a cinematic lens. In addition to this work, Byrd serves on the Board of Directors at both Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which provides healthcare and resources to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, regardless of their ability to pay, and The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which is the world’s only contemporary art museum dedicated to LGBTQIA+ artists. She is also a member of the advisory board for The Ali Forney Center, which provides transitional housing, education, health, career, and food services to displaced at-risk LGBTQIA+ youth.
