“A role model has to play some type of role. But I wanna be a real model. I wanna show that you can be yourself and still be successful.” Kondwani Fidel, the Baltimore author, poet and public speaker makes it clear in his film that putting on a facade was never really his thing. In “Hummingbirds in the trenches”, he takes us on an all access tour through his ingenious, though often tortured psyche. Through a gritty combination of poetry and narration, Fidel paints a vivid picture of a young man dealing with all the trappings and tragedies of growing up in the inner city.

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The film, which kicks off with casual interaction between family and friends, quickly nosedives into a myriad of saddening statistics which depict the urban decay swallowing up much of Baltimore. Fidel speaks on the losses he’s endured, and the untreated mental effects that this type of trauma can result in. Through it all though, the film still serves as a love letter to the city of Baltimore, and a testament to the beauty and potential that it continues to possess. Hummingbirds in the trenches combines gorgeous cinematography and narration to tell an unflinchingly honest story about Baltimore and its native son.