Serial Pictures has signed DGA Award-nominated filmmaker and Grammy-winning music producer D. Smith for commercials, branded entertainment and music video representation in North America. This marks her first such representation as a director. Smith is a multitalented voice with a fresh perspective, whom Out named one of 2023’s Most Impactful and Influential LGBTQ+ People, calling her “a vital breath of fresh air for trans art.” Her directorial debut, Kokomo City, garnered critical acclaim and major awards recognition–including the DGA nod earlier this year for achievement in documentary filmmaking.
In Kokomo City, Smith shines a bright, incisive, and unfiltered light on four Black transgender sex workers in Atlanta and New York City–who unapologetically break down the walls of their profession. Holding nothing back and pulsing to the beat of Smith’s own produced soundtrack, cinematography, and editing, the film vibrates with energy, joy, pain, humor, sadness, and hard-earned wisdom. Smith’s cinematography on Kokomo City also earned her an ASC Award nomination this year in the documentary category.
“D. Smith is a force. She possesses a sharp and unique eye and a distinctive point of view. Her approach to filmmaking is both powerful and vulnerable,” said Violaine Etienne, founding partner of Serial Pictures. “She is creating fearless, trailblazing work with visual poetry while compelling us to re-evaluate social constraints through her dynamic and bluntly honest voice. We are so excited to support the next chapter of her career.”
“I’m so excited to be repped by Serial Pictures and can already feel the possibilities!” said Smith. “I am thrilled to be expanding my craft to commercials and music videos and to tell stories that are distilled to their essence to move us and make us smile within these short formats.”
Smith’s journey into filmmaking follows a non-traditional path. Starting in the creative industry as a music producer, Smith produced records for major musical artists, including Lil Wayne, a collaboration which resulted in an eight-times platinum album and won Smith a Grammy for Best Rap Album. She has produced and written for Andre 3000, CeeLo Green, Katy Perry, Estelle, Monica, Lloyd, Fantasia, Nipsey Hussle, Ciara, Neyo, and Billy Porter. She has also collaborated with like-minded producers Timbaland and Mark Ronson.
From there, after transitioning, Smith was faced with the challenge of redirecting her career from the ground up. With nothing but her creative drive to her name, Smith bought a camera and lenses and filmed the deeply personal story Kokomo City by herself. No assistant, no cinematographer, no editor. Just the vision of a truth and her raw talent.
Edited and shot by Smith in bold black and white and executive produced by Lena Waithe, Kokomo City premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the coveted Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Adobe Innovation prize. Shortly after the premiere, Magnolia Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film.
Kokomo City also screened at SXSW and the Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Panorama Audience Award. The film went on to lead the Cinema Eye Honors Documentary Awards with nominations in six categories (including best director, with a pair of wins); is nominated for five Critics Choice Documentary Awards, including best documentary feature; and has been nominated for best documentary feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the GLAAD Media Awards.
After a theatrical run last summer, Kokomo City is now available to stream on Paramount+ and Showtime.
