Richmond's young poets are the center of 'Romeo is Bleeding'

Romeo is Bleeding, a candid and revealing documentary following the lives of a group of young, spoken-word artists in Richmond, has caught some attention following its world premiere in April. First-time director Jason Zeldes wove multiple viewpoints and stories to present a nuanced illustration of life in Richmond, drawing some parallels between the city and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. “We’re all family, and we are intermixing, and we’re having young children who have to straddle the fence on my daddy is from this side and my mom’s from that side — but both of my cousins are killing each other. So, what we try to do is just take that story and show you that this is a family. It’s not a gang... It’s people who are hurt.” More about the play and its real life set, on Richmond Pulse.