Louder Than a Bomb is a new documentary film about young spoken-word competitors — an intimate look at how they spin lessons from life into poetry.

Rather than emphasize individual poets and performances, the structure of Louder Than a Bomb demands that kids work collaboratively with their peers, presenting, critiquing, and rewriting their pieces. To succeed, teams have to create an environment of mutual trust and support. For many kids, being a part of such an environment—in an academic context—is life-changing.

The film centres around a team format. Yet, as with athletic teams, there are individual highlights like this 2008 performance by Nate Marshall.