''12 O'Clock Boys'' is a 2013 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Lotfy Nathan. The documentary focuses on urban dirt-bike riders in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and one boy's fascination with dirt bikes and desire to join the 12 O'Clock Boys group (named for doing a high angle

wheelie A wheelie, or wheelstand, is a vehicle maneuver in vehicle acrobatics in which the front wheel or wheels come off the ground due to sufficient torque being applied to the rear wheel or wheels, or rider motion relative to the vehicle. Wheelie ...

that mimics a clock’s hands at 12 o'clock).

Production

The group, known as the "12 O'Clock Boyz", emerged at illegal street rides by the start of the 21st century, and two members videotaped the stunts in 2001 and 2003. For the documentary the boy, Pug, was filmed over several years starting when he was 11, using a high-speed

Phantom Phantom, phantoms, or the phantom may refer to: * Spirit (metaphysics), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phanto ...

camera, whose footage was slowed, as well as a Canon 7G, with the crew strapped into the bed of a truck. Nathan, the director, was arrested once on suspicion of participation in the rides. The film also includes interviews with members of the group as well as Pug's mother, Coco, plus footage from a variety of local newscasts and clips from the ''12 O'Clock Boyz'' videos.

Release

The film was premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2013, and had its Baltimore premiere at the

Maryland Film Festival The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each March in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festiv ...

2013. It was acquired for U.S. theatrical distribution by

Oscilloscope Laboratories Oscilloscope Laboratories is an independent film company, distributor, recording studio and production facility. It was founded by Adam Yauch Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), also known by the stage name MCA, was an Am ...

in 2013.

Feature film adaptation

References

External links

* * * 2013 documentary films 2013 films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films African-American films African-American history in Baltimore American sports documentary films BMX Dirt biking Films set in Baltimore Films shot in Baltimore Films shot in Maryland Kickstarter-funded documentaries English-language documentary films {{sport-documentary-film-stub