Romeo Is Bleeding

A fatal turf war between neighborhoods haunts the city of Richmond, California. 22-year-old Donté Clark could easily be part of the problem, if he hadn’t discovered how to filter his rage through poetry. As a teenager, he had showed very little interest in “Romeo and Juliet” when it was on the school curriculum, just like most boys his age. But now, he can’t help but notice all the similarities between Shakespeare’s play and life in Richmond. Using his voice to inspire those around him, he and the like-minded youth of the city mount an urban adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet”, with the hope of starting a real dialogue about violence. Their ultimate ambition is to change the tragic finale. Will Richmond force Donté to compromise his idealistic ambitions? Or will Donté put an end to the cycle of trauma? An award-winning documentary editor (“20 Feet from Stardom”, “Racing Extinction”), Jason Zeldes makes his directorial debut with a disarming film on the redemptive power of art.