If you don’t already know, Tangerine follows two transgender prostitutes around on Christmas Eve in West Hollywood, the drama culminating at a donut shop on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland. It’s all shot on an iPhone and was reportedly made for under $10k, cast with all women from the local trans community.
The high grain and orange tint to the footage makes it feel dreamy and strange, but the cinematography—the camera follows our protagonists closely as if a third in their friend group—gives the viewer passage to this fascinating microculture without being exploitative. It’s been an interesting time for the trans community in Hollywood—Laverne Cox’s Emmy nomination for Orange is the New Black, Jill Soloway’s Transparent, Caitlyn Jenner" class="company-link">Caitlyn Jenner debuting her trans self publicly—I’m hopeful this confluence of forces evolves the conversation around gender politics in a meaningful way.
This post is from Observer Short List—an email of three favorite things from people you want to know. Sign up to receive OSL here.
