A topnotch testimonial to the transformative power of the pen.

Three talented high-school students from the Bronx find their voices through a poetry-writing course in “To Be Heard,” a topnotch testimonial to the transformative power of the pen. Reminiscent of the years-spanning intimacy of “Love and Diane” or “Hoop Dreams,” the docu plays like a three-pronged, true-life version of “Precious,” but studded with pithy, evocative verse and without that film’s ingrained sense of otherness. Preeming at the Doc NYC fest, where it topped its competition section and won the audience award, this well-crafted docu, skedded for PBS broadcast next year, merits a theatrical run in the interim.