At Saturday's Film Independent Spirit
Awards, Mya Taylor won Best Supporting Female, making her the first
transgender actress to win a major film award.
Taylor won the prize for her
performance in Tangerine.
Tangerine
was one of the most talked about films at the 2015 Sundance Film
Festival and received universally positive reviews. It was purchased
by Magnolia Pictures, which distributed the film in a limited release
on July 10, 2015. The film is currently playing on Netflix.
In accepting her award, Taylor called
on Hollywood to support transgender talent.
“There is transgender talent.
There's very beautiful transgender talent, so you better get out
there and put it in your next movie,” said Taylor, who did not have
major acting experience prior to starring in Tangerine.
In the film, notable for being shot on
an iPhone5, working girls Sin-Dee Rella (played by Kitana Kiki
Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Taylor) spend a Christmas Eve in Hollywood
searching for the pimp who broke Sin-Dee's heart with a cisgender
woman while she was locked up in prison.