Tangerine.

Sean S. Baker’s latest film is just one small strand of life’s rich tapestry but a very interesting strand.  Its Christmas Eve on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, Sean invites us to meet some very colourful characters who pursue a living selling sex to men with a certain ‘taste’ in ‘gurls’. We find out that Sin-Dee Rella (played brilliantly by newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodrigues in her debut feature film) has just been released from prison on a possession charge, in fact she was holding for her boyfriend Chester (James Ransone). When she sets out to renew her acquaintance with her pimp boyfriend her best friend Alexandra (another newcomer Mya Taylor) tells her that while she has been serving her 28 days he has been unfaithful to her with a white Cisgender [1]female called Dinah (Mickey O’Hagan). Sin-Dee sets out on a mission to track down the skinny white whore and face it out with Chester.

 

Alexandra and Sin-Dee chew the fat. 

You will be familiar with road movies well this hilarious comedy drama is more like a pavement movie. Sin-Dee, with best friend in tow, leads us through the subcultures of L A where we meet other Transsexual sex workers and the local Armenian cab driver Razmik (Karren Karagulian) a married father who prefers sex with Alexandra than with his own wife!  

 

Sin-Dee has a few words wth the 'skinny white bitch'

The genesis of this narrative was borrowed from real life, as Baker, who not only directed, but co wrote and co produced the story, explained. “Kiki told us a story she’d heard about a girl, a transgender sex worker, who found out that her boyfriend was actually sleeping with a Cisgender female. She was so upset that she wanted to actually find this girl and force a confrontation between herself, the girl, and the boyfriend. And it was something that struck me as quite dramatic. It was a launching point for us because it’s immediate drama that would take us on a journey.[2]”

 

The director with his two main leads.

This utterly original movie was shot using Apple iPhone 5s and cast many real life sex workers as extras. Even with its limited release the film has been well received by critics and cinemagoers alike. In fact this movie is a real treat and should not be missed. Highly recommended.

The brilliant Kitana Kiki Rodrigues who plays Sin-Dee Rella.

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[1] Cisgender (often abbreviated to simply cis) is a term for people who have a gender identity that matches the sex that they were assigned at birth. Cisgender may also be defined as those who have "a gender identity or perform a gender role society considers appropriate for one's sex." It is the opposite of the term transgender.

[2] Movie Press Notes.