Institute History
Description
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast
Fourteen-year-old Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) desperately wants to join the Midnight Clique, an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders who rule the summertime streets. His older brother, Stro, was their top rider before his tragic death—a loss that consumes Mouse as much as his passion for bikes. Mouse’s mom (Teyonah Parris) and his police mentor, Detective Rivers (William Catlett), work overtime to help the charismatic teen reach his full potential, but when the Midnight Clique’s leader, Blax (Meek Mill), takes the boy under his wing, the lure of revving his own dirt bike skids Mouse toward a road way past the straight and narrow.
Puerto Rican director Angel Manuel Soto (Dinner Party, 2018 New Frontier VR experience at Sundance Film Festival) returns to the Festival with this electric feature that pulses with teen gusto, thumping hip-hop, and amazing bike tricks. Soto directs an astonishingly talented cast to create a narrative bursting with pitch-perfect performances and intoxicating emotion. Based on the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys, Charm City Kings is one boy’s unforgettable journey toward manhood.