In the first purely on-site deal to close at Sundance 2023, Magnolia has picked up worldwide rights to Black trans sex workers documentary Kokomo City.
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‘Kokomo City’: Sundance Review
The deal for the NEXT selection concluded after what the distributor said was an all-night negotiation with CAA Media Finance following Saturday night’s world premiere at Egyptian Theatre.
Grammy-nominated songwriter-producer D. Smith makes her feature directing debut on the film in which four Black trans sex workers in Atlanta and New York City break down the walls of their profession.
Lena Waithe served as executive producer on Kokomo City, which will screen in Berlin Panorama next month. Magnolia head of international sales Lorna Lee Torres and international sales manager Austin Kennedy will launch sales with EFM buyers.
Magnolia will release the film theatrically in the US this year. Eamonn Bowles, company president, described it as “[h]ilarious and revelatory and wildly entertaining and with a soundtrack for all ages.”
Smith said, “Before the film, the trans narrative had created barriers that kept humanity apart. The deal was negotiated by EVP Dori Begley, and SVP of acquisitions John Von Thaden.
On Friday Magnolia announced it had closed a worldwide deal for
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