Directed by Greg Kwedar (Transpecos (2016)) and starring Colman Domingo (Lincoln (2012); Selma (2014); Drive-Away Dolls (2024); Candyman (2021)), Sean San Jose (Life Tastes Good (1999); The Other Barrio (2015)), Paul Raci (Sound of Metal (2019); The Mother (2023)) and Perry Mason (TV series, 2023)).
Drama; 107 mins; EA (children admitted)
A raw, riveting but sometimes slow-paced drama based on the book "Sing Sing Follies (A Maximum-Security Comedy): And Other True Stories", a collection of magazine stories by John H. Richardson.
Set in the high security and notorious Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, it follows John Divine G Whitfield (Colman Domingo) who is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
He (Divine G), along with fellow inmate Mike Mike (Sean San Jose), plus Clarence Maclin, Mosi Eagle, Sean Johnson and other formerly incarcerated actors, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group he founded a number of years ago.
While he also finds time to prepare for probation hearings for himself and other prisoners, his main passion is putting on dramatic performances twice a year, for other inmates.
Led by the stage director Brent Buell (Paul Raci), they follow on from a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and consider a play written by Divine G himself. However, newcomer Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin suggests doing comedy as a break from the usual tragedies, etc. Others in the group offer their own suggestions, resulting in Brent writing a stage play over a weekend based on time travel and featuring pirates, gladiators and more...
The main storylines follows the inmates preparing for the production, including learning their lines, etc., with the various sub-plots showing character development as a few of their personal lives and back stories are revealed.
The scenes of the auditions by inmates for the various parts are taken from actual audition tapes used to cast the film. The closing credits feature archive footage of "Breakin' the Mummy's Cord" and other previous productions at Sing Sing.
A story of resilience, humanity and the transformative power of art.
Sing, Sing is being screened in Luxembourg at Kinepolis from 16 January 2025.
