Image Courtesy of Deadline

When Puerto Rican filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto was first introduced to the script for Charm City Kings, a story based on the Lotfy Nathan’s 12 O’Clock Boy documentary about urban dirt-bike riders in Baltimore, it immediately resonated with him.

“I was able to find a connecting point between Puerto Rico and how I grew up and Baltimore and the journey of this kid. I couldn’t find a big difference apart from Baltimore is in the United States and Puerto Rico is a small island in the Caribbean,” said Soto during his stop at Deadline’s Sundance studio.

Written by Sherman Payne, based on a story by Barry Jenkins, Chris Boyd, and Kirk Sullivan, the film centers on Mouse (Winston), a young boy who wants nothing more than to be a part of the Midnight Clique, a tough group of Baltimore bike riders who rule the summertime streets. As he navigates the challenges of coming of age in a complicated world, he learns the hard way that the choices you make early on can change your life forever.

Read more here.