‘Sing Sing’ Will Reach Nearly One Million Incarcerated People With Prison Release

Topline

The Golden Globe-nominated prison drama “Sing Sing” will be re-released in theaters and made available in more than 1,100 correctional facilities this week in what its distributor says is the first time a major theatrical release is made available to incarcerated people.

Key Facts

What Is “sing Sing” About?

The film is inspired by a true story and is based on real prisoners who were incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, some of whom play fictionalized versions of themselves. The men, both the characters in the film and their real-life counterparts, co-founded and put on stage productions as part of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts theater program while incarcerated. The film stars Colman Domingo, an actor known for his Emmy-winning role in “Euphoria” and Oscar-nominated performance in “Rustin” (2023), as John “Divine G” Whitfield, a real prisoner from Sing Sing who was incarcerated for more than 20 years. Whitfield, both the character and the real man, maintains he was wrongfully convicted for murder. Whitfield was a founding member of Rehabilitation Through the Arts, and the film follows Domingo as Whitfield as he co-founds the program and puts on an original stage show called “Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code.” Other actors in the film include former Sing Sing prisoners who participated in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts, including Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin and Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez. The film was directed by Greg Kwedar, who co-wrote and produced the film alongside Clint Bentley. Kwedar and Bentley are filmmakers who were inspired to make the film after they volunteered at a Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. The Rehabilitation Through the Arts program has supported the film and published a page on its website explaining how the film highlights the group’s work.

Surprising Fact

Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, an actor who starred in the film and was incarcerated for 23 years at Sing Sing, had his conviction overturned by a judge in September. Velazquez was convicted despite not matching the description of the suspect in his case and spent years arguing his innocence, including as part of a 10-year investigation by “Dateline NBC” producer Dan Slepian that sparked a review by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit.

Key Background

“Sing Sing” made just under $3 million during its initial limited theatrical release last summer, according to Box Office Mojo. The movie was acclaimed by critics, achieving a near-perfect 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 184 reviews. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a drama film for Domingo, who also earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. An Oscar nomination for Domingo would be his second in a row, after he was nominated last year for “Rustin.” Several media outlets, including Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, predict Domingo will earn an Oscar nomination, and that the film could possibly be up for Best Picture. Kwedar said the film took about seven years to produce, as he rewrote the screenplay at least three times while he was volunteering at a Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. The movie was shot in 2022 at the defunct Downstate Correctional Facility prison in New York.

Tangent

Some of the formerly incarcerated actors who played versions of themselves in “Sing Sing” will hold a live production of “Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code”—the play the men put on at Sing Sing which is depicted in the film—in New York at the off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop in February.

Further Reading

Actor JJ Velazquez Formally Cleared After Serving 23 Years For Murder (Forbes)