Sundance Prize Winner D. Smith Partners With Media Res On Documentary ‘Blvd’
EXCLUSIVE: D. Smith, the filmmaker behind the critically acclaimed documentary Kokomo City, which won the NEXT Audience and Innovator Awards at Sundance 2022, has partnered with Media Res and Brandon Sharp’s Agenda on her next docu project, Blvd, which is said to ask Dr. King the question: Was it just a dream?
Infused with visual poetry, and applying the same innovative techniques and signature style established in Smith’s debut, the genre-bending Blvd aims to show audiences what really connects and divides people from each other and the rest of the country. The film shines a light on Black communities with the aim to tell not just a neighborhood story or a history lesson, but a story about all of who Black people are, here and now.
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“BLVD is a raw real reflection of where we are,” Smith told Deadline. “The best way to encourage Black people is to remind them who we are. I want to show the beauty in the filth and the filth in the beauty. It’s gonna be outrageous.”
The project will be overseen by Media Res’ Head of Nonfiction, Sarba Das, who stated, “D. Smith is a singular artist. We were blown away by the stunning portrayal of humanity in her brilliant debut film Kokomo City and are thrilled to be collaborating on her next visionary documentary.”
A two-time Grammy nominated producer and singer-songwriter, Smith received DGA and Independent Spirit Award nominations for Kokomo City, a raw depiction of the lives of four Black trans sex workers, which also snapped up the Panorama Audience Award in Berlin, before going on to hit theaters via Magnolia Pictures in July 2023.
A television studio and motion picture production company founded by Michael Ellenberg, Media Res’s current slate includes the third season of The Morning Show, the second season of Pachinko and Scott Z. Burns’s climate change series Extrapolations for Apple TV+, Prime Video’s absurdist comedy I’m a Virgo from Boots Riley, and HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage. In January, Jeff Zucker’s media investment firm RedBird IMI announced an investment in the company, which marked its first venture in scripted entertainment.
Founded in 2021 to represent talent and produce at the intersection of politics, activism, and entertainment, Agenda’s projects include Spotify’s Abolition X Podcast and Stitcher/Sirius XM’s Vibe Check podcast, along with TV projects in development at CBS Studios and Chernin Entertainment, and a feature project with Megan and David Dobkin’s Big Kid Pictures.
Smith is represented by CAA and 2AM.
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