FILM · 2015 · USA
Tangerine
- Directed by
- Sean Baker
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Studio
- Through Films, Duplass Brothers Productions, Cre Film
135 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own…
135 Interesting Facts About Tangerine
Interesting Facts (26)
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The film captures various physical aspects of the intersection of Santa Monica and Highland in Hollywood, a significant location. By mid-2016, most of the buildings seen in the film had been demolished, including the Arena Night Club, where Sin-Dee promises "no drama, Alexandra" at Donut Time; several scenes take place there, it closed, and a year later it reopened as Trejo's Coffee & Donuts.
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The extras in the Donut Time scenes were not all paid actors; they were real customers who walked into the establishment in the middle of the shoot. Although the owners gave them permission to film in the area, they could not close the shop, so Sean Baker had to shoot during the store's business hours. Customers who accidentally walked into the shoot later had to be told that they appeared in the film and needed to sign release forms.
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Director Sean Baker and co-writer Chris Bergoch met Mya Taylor at the Village at Ed Gould Plaza, an LGBT community center on McCadden Place in Hollywood. The Village is located near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Boulevard in Hollywood, where much of the film's action takes place, and the center can be seen in the scene featuring Parsimonious John (whose car is parked across the street).
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Shooting the film on an iPhone was an advantage for the production. Because the entire film was shot on location without any sets, all of the background extras were not actors but pedestrians living in the city of Los Angeles where the film was shot. This meant that an unobtrusive small phone could shoot continuously without any curious passerby approaching the crew and interrupting the take, which would have happened when shooting with traditional film cameras that are far more conspicuous and distracting on the streets.
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Neither Mya Taylor nor Kitana Kiki Rodriguez had any acting experience before appearing in the film; Taylor had only been in a drama class in high school. They were discovered by the two of them at a local LGBT Center in Los Angeles, where they were living together in the same apartment at the time.
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Ashken initially believes Razmik smokes marijuana with prostitutes at Donut Time, until Chester accidentally reveals that he has sex with prostitutes instead. Unaware that Ashken and Razmik speak Armenian, Chester explains Razmik's secret to him in Russian, yet Ashken still understands him. Given Ashken's age and Armenian heritage, he likely grew up in the Soviet Union and would have had to learn the language in a Russian school, meaning he understood that Chester did not know he spoke Russian and that Ashken himself spoke Armenian.
Production Story (53)
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Sean Baker's risky choice to shoot the entire film on an iPhone was both a cost-cutting measure and an experimental technique. Baker had trouble securing financing for the film and considered shooting on an iPhone to save on production costs, since buying and/or renting a DSLR or film camera would be expensive, and no feature film had ever been shot entirely on a cell phone before, so there was also a level of artistic ambition in the choice.
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Director Sean Baker and co-writer Chris Bergoch met Mya Taylor at the LGBT community center Village at Ed Gould Plaza on McCadden Place in Hollywood. Very close to the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Avenue, where much of the film takes place, this center also appears in the scene where Parsimonious John parks across from it.
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The actors first cast as Ashken and Yeva left the project in the first week of shooting; when their replacements also left in the second week, Sean Baker panicked. With only a week left to shoot their scenes, the roles were filled at the last minute thanks to Karren Kalagulian recommending Alla Tumanian through New York actor Arsen Grigoryan, and Luiza Nersisyan happening to be in Los Angeles that very week.
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The film immortalizes the physical texture of the Santa Monica and Highland intersection in Hollywood at a particular moment in time. By mid-2016, many of the buildings seen in the film had been demolished, including the Arena nightclub where Sin-Dee says "no drama Alexandra." Donut Time, which hosted many scenes, closed and reopened a year later as Trejo's Coffee & Donuts.
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Sean Baker was determined that the donut shop in the film be a distinctive location. He had to get permission to shoot there and said he would cancel the film if he couldn't use the location. Before the shop closed, filming inside was limited to a maximum of 5 hours; in total, Baker was able to shoot inside and outside over 3 days and 2 nights. After the film was released, the location was bought by Danny Trejo and renovated under the name Trejo's Coffee and Donuts, and for example the back door through which Yeva enters to confront Razmik no longer exists.
- #044
All the extras in the Donut Time scenes were real customers who walked into the location during filming. Although the owners granted permission to shoot, they couldn't close the shop, so Sean Baker had to film during business hours. Customers who accidentally wandered into the shoot were later told they were in a film and asked to sign a release form.
- #045
Sean Baker's risky decision to shoot the entire film on an iPhone was both a cost-cutting measure and an experimental technique. Baker was having trouble finding financing for the film and thought of shooting with an iPhone since renting a DSLR or film camera would be expensive; the fact that no feature film had ever been shot entirely on a cell phone also added an artistic passion to the project.
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Arsen Grigoryan was terrified while shooting the scenes as Karo in which Ashken, played by Alla Tumanian, takes him to Donut Time to confront Razmik. These scenes had to be shot while driving on Los Angeles's busy streets, and Grigoryan had to stay in character and drive at the same time.
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At the Spirit Awards, both Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez were nominated for Best Female Lead; however, Rodriguez was notably absent during awards season and did not attend the ceremony on February 27. Taylor said of the situation that Rodriguez was dealing with "personal issues" and refused to attend because she is a very private person who shares no details about her personal life: "She's very calm and doesn't like being the center of attention."
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Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez had no acting experience before being cast in the film by Baker and Bergoch; Taylor had only taken a drama class in high school. The pair were discovered at a local LGBT center in Los Angeles, and at the time they were living together in the same apartment.
- #057
The film launched the careers of trans actresses Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez. Distributor Magnolia Pictures even ran a campaign to get the two actresses nominated for an Academy Award for their performances in the film (though it was unsuccessful). Taylor subsequently decided to continue acting, while Rodriguez, a private and reclusive person, never acted again after the film's release.
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Director Sean Baker and co-writer Chris Bergoch met Mya Taylor at the LGBT community center Village at Ed Gould Plaza on McCadden Place in Hollywood. Very close to the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Avenue, where much of the film takes place, this center is also visible in the scene where Parsimonious John parks his car across the street.
- #069
The actors first cast as Ashken and Yeva left the project during the first week of shooting; when their replacements also left in the second week, Sean Baker panicked. With only a week left to shoot their scenes, the roles were filled at the last minute thanks to Karren Kalagulian recommending Alla Tumanian through New York actor Arsen Grigoryan and Luiza Nersisyan happening to be in Los Angeles that very week.
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Ashken believes Razmik smokes marijuana with prostitutes at Donut Time, until Chester accidentally reveals that he has been with them. Because Chester does not know that Ashken and Razmik speak Armenian, he tells the secret in Russian, but Ashken understands him. Given Ashken's age and Armenian origins, he most likely grew up in the Soviet Union and was educated in Russian, which is how he deciphers Chester's Russian.
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Behind the Scenes (19)
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The film immortalizes the physical texture of the Santa Monica and Highland intersection in Hollywood at a particular moment in time. By mid-2016, many of the buildings seen in the film had been demolished, including the Arena Night Club, where Sin-Dee says "no drama Alexandra." Donut Time, which hosted many scenes, closed and reopened a year later as Trejo's Coffee & Donuts.
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Sean Baker was determined that the donut shop in the film be a distinctive location. He had to obtain permission to shoot there and said he would cancel the film if he could not use the location. Before the shop closed, filming inside was limited to a maximum of 5 hours; in total, Baker was able to shoot inside and outside over 3 days and 2 nights. After the film was released, the location was bought by Danny Trejo and renovated under the name Trejo's Coffee and Donuts, and for example the back door through which Yeva enters to confront Razmik no longer exists.
- #089
All the extras in the Donut Time scenes were real customers who came into the location during filming. Although the owners granted permission to shoot, they could not close the shop, so Sean Baker had to film during business hours. Customers who accidentally wandered into the shoot were later told they were in a film and asked to sign a release form.
- #090
Sean Baker's risky decision to shoot the entire film on an iPhone was both a cost-cutting measure and an experimental technique. Baker was struggling to find financing for the film and, since renting a DSLR or film camera would be expensive, he considered shooting with an iPhone; the fact that no feature film had ever been shot entirely on a cell phone also added an artistic passion to the project.
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Shooting the film on an iPhone gave the production an advantage. Because it was shot entirely in real locations without sets, all the extras in the background were pedestrians on the streets of Los Angeles. A small, inconspicuous phone, unlike traditional cameras, allowed filming without attracting the attention of curious passersby.
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Characters & Cast (21)
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The original actresses in the roles of Ashken and Yeva left during the first week of production, and their replacements were also dropped during the second week. This sent Sean Baker into a panic, since they had only one week left to find actresses to play the characters before shooting their scenes. The casting of Alla Tumanian and Luiza Nersisyan came together at the last minute when Karren Kalagulian contacted Arsen Grigoryan, a New York actor who plays Karo in the film. Arsen Grigoryan recommended Tumanian for the role. Nersisyan was visiting Los Angeles the week the previous actress left and was hired immediately upon being discovered.
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Arsen Grigoryan, as Karo, was terrified while shooting the scenes in which he drives Ashken, played by Alla Tumanian, to Donut Time to confront Razmik. These scenes had to be shot while driving through Los Angeles's busy streets, and Grigoryan had to stay in character and drive at the same time.
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At the Spirit Awards, both Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez were nominated for Best Female Lead; however, Rodriguez was conspicuously absent during awards season and did not attend the ceremony on February 27. Taylor said of the situation that Rodriguez declined to attend because she was dealing with "personal issues" and is a very private person who shares no details about her personal life: "She's very calm and doesn't like being the center of attention."
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This film launched the careers of transgender actresses Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez. The distributor Magnolia Pictures even ran a campaign for the two actresses to be nominated for an Academy Award for their performances in this film (though it was unsuccessful). Taylor subsequently decided to continue acting, while Rodriguez never acted again after the film's release, as she is a private, reclusive person.
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Easter Eggs & References (1)
Deeper Meaning (14)
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Sean Baker was determined that the donut shop be a prominent location in the film. He had to get permission to shoot at the location and said he would cancel the film if he could not use it. Before the shop closed, filming inside was limited to at most 5 hours. Baker was able to shoot inside and outside for a total of 3 days and 2 nights. After the film was released, the shop was remodeled and renovated after being bought by Danny Trejo and renamed Trejo's Coffee and Donuts. For example, the back entrance Yeva enters to confront Razmik is no longer there.
- #122
Arsen Grigoryan, who plays Karo, was absolutely terrified while shooting the scenes in which he has to take Alla Tumanian, as Ashken, to Donut Time to confront Razmik. The scenes had to be shot while driving through the crowded streets of Los Angeles, and Grigoryan also had to stay in character while driving.
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Ashken believes that Razmik smokes marijuana with prostitutes at Donut Time, until Chester accidentally reveals that he is with prostitutes. Because Chester does not know that Ashken and Razmik speak Armenian, he tells the secret in Russian, but Ashken understands him. Given Ashken's age and Armenian background, he likely grew up in the Soviet Union and was educated in Russian, which is how he deciphers Chester's Russian.
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Career & Awards (1)
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This film was the breakthrough hit for transgender actresses Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez. Distributor Magnolia Pictures even ran a campaign to get both actresses nominated for an Oscar for their work in the film (which failed). Taylor later decided to continue acting, but Rodriguez never acted again after the film's premiere, as she is a reclusive person who values her privacy.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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