Tangerine 2015

Transgender sex worker Sin-Dee Rella, played by Kiki Kitana Rodriguez, has just completed a 28-day stint in jail when she meets up with her friend, Alexandra (portrayed by Mya Taylor), at a donut shop in Hollywood on Christmas Eve. During their encounter, Alexandra reveals shocking news: Sin-Dee’s boyfriend and pimp, Chester (depicted by James Ransone), has been unfaithful with a cisgender woman whose name starts with “D.” Enraged, Sin-Dee storms out, determined to find Chester and the woman, while Alexandra opts to avoid the ensuing drama.

As the night unfolds, Alexandra is busy handing out flyers for her musical performance scheduled that evening at The Mary’s bar at 7 PM. A confrontation arises when a client refuses to pay her the agreed price of $40 after a rather unsatisfactory encounter, and their argument is cut short by the presence of the police. Meanwhile, Razmik, played by Karren Karagulian, is an Armenian cab driver leading an honest life despite an eventful day that includes two drunken passengers who make a mess of his car. Later, Razmik encounters Alexandra and they share a brief intimate moment at a car wash before he heads home to celebrate Christmas dinner with his family.

In the meantime, Sin-Dee crosses paths with Nash (played by Ian Edwards), another pimp, who tells her Chester is at a nearby food line distributing $20 Christmas vouchers. Through an acquaintance there, Sin-Dee learns where to find the woman Chester has been seeing. This leads her to Dinah (played by Michael Adrienne O’Hagan), found at a brothel in a motel, whom Sin-Dee drags onto a bus in pursuit of Chester. As circumstances unfold, Dinah taunts Sin-Dee for her belief that she holds a special place in Chester’s life.

Sin-Dee soon discovers she is late for Alexandra’s show, and in a twist of fate, drags Dinah along instead. As the two share a moment of camaraderie, smoking crystal meth in the bar bathroom while applying makeup on each other, Alexandra is left to perform before a nearly empty venue. Their plans shift again as they all resolve to head towards Donut Time to confront Chester. It’s revealed that Razmik sneaks out from his family’s Christmas celebration to catch Alexandra’s performance but ends up missing it, leading him to frantically look for Sin-Dee, quickly finding out she has gone to the donut shop.

The tension thickens as Sin-Dee, Alexandra, and Dinah arrive at Donut Time, leading to a confrontation with Chester. He claims that Dinah means nothing to him, insists he is still engaged to Sin-Dee, and dismisses Dinah’s assertion that she has been intimate with him multiple times. Just then, Razmik arrives under odd circumstances, accompanied by his suspicious mother-in-law, Ashken (portrayed by Alla Tumanian). Ashken initially misinterprets Razmik’s situation and innocently shares her concerns with his wife, Yeva (played by Luiza Nersisyan), who arrives with their baby.

What follows is an explosive argument among the group, escalating to the point where the shop owner, Mamasan (Shih-Ching Tsou), is forced to evict them from the premises. Inflicting pain even further, Chester tells Sin-Dee he has also slept with Alexandra, which sends her into a tailspin. Rejected and hurt, she tries to pick up clients only to face cruel remarks and harassment.

In a final act of compassion, Alexandra takes Sin-Dee to a laundromat to clean up her clothes and wig, offering her one of her own wigs to help her reclaim her composure while they await a brighter turn of events.