Tangerine (2015)

A hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.

Director:

Sean Baker

Writers:

Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch

Stars:

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian

24 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez	...	Sin-Dee
Mya Taylor	...	Alexandra
Karren Karagulian	...	Razmik
Mickey O'Hagan	...	Dinah
James Ransone	...	Chester
Alla Tumanian	...	Ashken
Luiza Nersisyan	...	Yeva
Arsen Grigoryan	...	Karo
Ian Edwards	...	Nash
Clu Gulager	...	The Cherokee
Ana Foxx	...	Selena
Scott Krinsky	...	Parsimonious John
Chelcie Lynn	...	Madam Jillian
Shih-Ching Tsou	...	Mamasan
Josh Sussman	...	Retch Chunder

Storyline

A hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.

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Plot Keywords:

lgbt | shot on phone | unfaithful boyfriend | transgender prostitute | pimp | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong and disturbing sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Magnolia Pictures Tangerine Page Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Armenian

Release Date:

10 July 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tangerine

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$74,934, 17 July 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$701,837, 16 October 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Duplass Brothers Productions, Through Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 8th best film of 2015 according to director John Waters in Artforum. [Dec. 2015]

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Goofs

The cameraman and camera's shadow can be seen on the ground and taxi cab as Razmik drags out the vomiting drunks from his cab.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sin-Dee: Merry Christmas Eve, Bitch.

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Connections

Referenced in Half in the Bag: The Hateful Eight/The Ridiculous 6 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Cumbias Con Mariachi
Written by Kat Sanchez, Silvestre Vargas, Jose Sanchez and
Gustavo Ramirez
Performed by Mariachi De Maiz

User Reviews

What An Indie Film Should Be

I saw this Premiere at Sundance 2015. This is what a Sundance film should be. You start watching at a distance. The subject matter of prostitutes, pimps, drugs, sex, homosexuality and gender roles is foreign to most and even repulsive to some. But that's the beauty. It draws you in...you start to care about the characters, you start to laugh with them. You then admire their pluck. You feel their frustration, sadness and even shame. Then you identify with it. Then, eventually, you admire it. Finally, what you see are human beings with the same, or even better, values that you have. The music is cutting edge street sound that propels you along the LA sidewalks and, combined with the colors of the film (i.e. tangerine), it pulls you into the brash and jolting life on some of the worse streets of LA. The power of the film is that, in powerful ways, that street community seems a better home than you have in safe suburbia. This is what indie film should be.....it takes a different subject matter, perhaps something disturbing, draws you in and changes the way you view the world. Forever. Not just during the course of a film festival.

Even better, this film was shot entirely on three iPhone 5s. At the Premiere, the audience audibly gasped when this fact rolled on screen during the credits. Another thing an indie film should do...change the way you look at how films can be made. (I'm actually going to try to make a film this summer...seriously).

This film should have won the Sundance NEXT award....and probably would have if it was not by audience vote. This is not mainstream..it is an independent film. This film will change your life.

P.S. Both female leads were powerful and legitimate, in every sense of that word. But Kiki Kitana Rodriguez has screen presence and karma enough to fill Dodger Stadium one hundred times over. I could watch her for yours, and hope we all have a chance to do so again.