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Tangerine is a strikingly documentary-like feature that charts one particularly sunny Christmas Eve in West Hollywood, through the eyes of two transgender sex workers – Alexandra and Sin-Dee – and an Armenian taxi driver, Razmik (Played by Mya Taylor, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, and Karren Karagulian respectively). Shot on three iPhones due to budget constraints, and starring two aspiring trans actresses director Sean Baker met at an LGBT centre in the area, the film offers a view of friendship (and Christmas!) very different to what we are used to seeing onscreen. Baker handles the subject matter, performances and unusual technical aspects with a deft hand, resulting in a film that is hilarious, warm, energetic, and ultimately moving.

Sin-Dee, Alexandra and Razmik are all enjoying a less than traditional night-before-Christmas when we meet them in and around Santa Monica Boulevard. Sin-Dee has just been released from prison, only to find that her pimp boyfriend, Chester, has been cheating on her – and not only cheating on her, but cheating on her with “white fish”! Alexandra is broke, working the streets to make some money and spread the word about her singing performance at a bar that night. Razmik is avoiding the in-laws by ferrying drunken and disorderly passengers around town in his cab and crawling the streets the girls usually work on, looking for a blowjob.

The film is full of manic energy, in no small part thanks to the frenzied soundtrack. Heavy electronic beats drop as the camera lurches wildly down the street after Sin-Dee and Alexandra, mid-argument, and soothing classical overtures boom as they smoke at bus stops. Performances from Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor are brilliantly animated, breathing life into two strong-willed, often clashing characters. The messy, highly-saturated footage of L.A.’s sun-drenched streets adds to the wonderfully heady atmosphere.

The story of taciturn taximan, Razmik, gives respite from the girls’ fighting, and short encounters with his passengers lend the film an episodic quality that breaks up the otherwise meandering day-in-the-life plot. Razmik’s taxi is the perfect vehicle in which to meet the locals, who range from puking kids to elderly convicts to naive cisgender prostitutes working the wrong block. These vignettes come together to create what feels like a rounded introduction to the diverse neighbourhood, and it’s partly this evocation of a spirited and seedy part of town that makes the film so enjoyable.

Baker is a sensitive director whose confidence on this, his fifth feature film, is apparent. Rather than treating his subjects with shy respect, he wants to laugh at them and their stories, their weaknesses, and their strengths. He has us cracking up while watching some pretty horrible events, like Sin-Dee beating up a rival prostitute, and Razmik being labelled “Mr Falafel” by slimy pimp Chester. His skill is in managing to turn this extensive use of bold humour into a vehicle for sympathy and understanding, by drawing on each tension – racial, sexual, and economic – to create space for reflection and humour while also making the characters that populate the story incredibly human and multi-dimensional.

Tangerine is a real cracker of a film that entertains with a wacky narrative, while offering an interesting and candid look at everyday aspects of sex work, immigration and marginalised sexuality. A sharp comedy with a heart of gold.

Tangerine is currently showing at the IFI.