A youth finds himself drawn towards a dangerous path in Director Angel Manuel Soto’s coming-of-age drama, Charm City Kings.
Soto’s film tells the story of fourteen-year-old Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), who desperately wants to join the Midnight Clique, an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders who rule the summertime streets. 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 past the straight and narrow.
On February 18, Soto discussed the making of Charm City Kings in a DGA Virtual Q&A moderated by Director Derek Cianfrance (The Light Between Oceans).
During the conversation, Soto spoke about his use of the city of Baltimore in his film. “The location is not a backdrop. I believe where you're from does inform your life, it forms you. It's not just a pretty wall, it's not just for the purpose of it looking pretty. I believe the city breathes, the city gives life, the city takes life, the city is an active character in all of my films, whether it is a fake city or not.”
Soto’s other directorial credits include the feature films The Farm and Frailty.
Soto has been a DGA member since 2018.
You can listen to Soto's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.
About the DGA Virtual Q&A Program
Mirroring the ever-popular DGA Membership Screening Q&A program in the virtual space, DGA Members can now learn more about films directly from the filmmakers in this series of livestreamed conversations.