There are many dozens of classic prison movies, everything from “The Shawshank Redemption” to Robert Bresson’s “A Man Escaped” to several Clint Eastwood movies, and many of them revolve around the human spirit, the will to live beyond the psychological claustrophobia of incarceration. But perhaps there’s been no prison movie like “Sing Sing,” a new A24 drama starring Colman Domingo, about a theatre troupe that finds escape from the realities of incarceration through the creativity of putting on a play.
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Based on the real-life arts rehabilitation program founded at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, filmmaker Greg Kwedar’s new film follows a troupe of incarcerated actors who work on a play as part of a theatre workshop at the prison. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and even before the festival began, the festival awarded Domingo with the TIFF Tribute Performer Award. Set to make its U.S. premiere at the upcoming SXSW Film & Television Festival, “Sing Sing” is set to release later this summer in July.
On top of Domingo, the film stars Clarence Maclin, Paul Raci, and Sean San José, but most of the cast is played by former prison inmates. Here’s the official synopsis:
A theater troupe finds escape from the realities of incarceration through the creativity of putting on a play in this film based on a real-life rehabilitation program and featuring a cast that includes formerly incarcerated actors.
TIFF said of the film last year, “Bolstered by a cast made up almost entirely of formerly incarcerated actors and alumni of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, their participation brings an authenticity to the group’s founding principle that human dignity must be a part of the justice system.”
No specific date has been given yet, but A24’s new trailer says the film arrives in July 2024, so pencil that date in for now. Watch it below.