'Charm City Kings' Trailer: One Of Our Favorites From Sundance Arrives In Theaters This April

Coming-of-age films are a dime a dozen. Nowadays, if you want to showcase the plight of a young person and the growth they experience over a period of time, you better have something unique and interesting to say. Thankfully, that’s where “Charm City Kings” shines.

As seen in the new trailer for the film, “Charm City Kings” sets itself up like one of those typical coming-of-age tales, with a young man trying to deal with relationships, family drama, and all the tension that arises when you’re a teenager. However, with the backdrop of stunt-riding in Baltimore, “Charm City Kings” presents a spin on the classic genre that allows audiences to experience Mouse’s summer from a fresh perspective.

READ MORE: ‘Charm City Kings’: An Outstanding, Unabashedly Black Coming Of Age Tale Made One Mile Of Road At A Time [Sundance Review]

The film stars Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Chino Braxton, Lakeyria “Wheelie Queen” Doughty, Donielle Tremaine Hansley, Kezii Curtis, Chandler DuPont, and Teyonah Parris. ‘Charm City’ is directed by Angel Manuel Soto.

We saw the film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and in our review, we said, “By the conclusion of ‘Charm City Kings,’ skid marks trace around the heart like blood crawling through your veins. ‘Charm City Kings’ is beautiful and important, unabashedly Black, yet rarely traumatic, and almost always determined statement. Soto has crafted an incredible empathetic narrative, one mile of road at a time.”

“Charm City Kings” opens in theaters on April 10.

Here’s the synopsis:

Growing up in West Baltimore, teenage Mouse (JAHI DI’ALLO WINSTON, Queen & Slim, Proud Mary, The Upside) feels the fierce pull of different forces: Between notorious ex-con Blax (Grammy-nominated best-selling artist MEEK MILL) and concerned Detective Rivers (WILLIAM CATLETT, TV’s “Black Lightning”), and between the straight path set for Mouse by his concerned mother (TEYONAH PARRIS, If Beale Street Could Talk, Dear White People, TV’s “Empire”) and the dangers of gang life, which took his brother’s life. The one truth Mouse knows is that he loves the power, artistry, and energy of “The Ride” — the exhilarating motorized-dirt-bike scene that is both a pastime and passion on the streets of Baltimore. During one eventful summer, Mouse has to steer his way through two father figures, a first girlfriend, and the illegal but irresistible thrill of stunt-riding that makes him and his friends feel like CHARM CITY KINGS.