Yahoo Lifestyle A24 Re-Releasing ‘Sing Sing’ in Theaters in January Following Big Gotham Awards Night (EXCLUSIVE)
Fresh off its big night at the Gotham Awards, A24’s “Sing Sing” will re-open in theaters nationwide next month. The indie drama was one of the year’s best reviewed films, earning high praise for Greg Kwedar’s sensitive direction, as well as for the performances of Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin, both of whom won acting prizes at the Gothams. The film, which shows the positive impact that the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program has on a group of incarcerated men, was also honored with the organization’s Social Justice Tribute.
“Sing Sing” will re-open on Jan. 17 exclusively in theaters, though a final count of screens hasn’t been finalized. A24 released the picture on July 12. However, despite the months that have passed since its debut, the indie studio refrained from releasing it digitally or on other streaming platforms. The movie is viewed as a serious Oscars contender.
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At the Gothams, Domingo and Maclin earned standing ovations when they received their prizes for outstanding lead and outstanding supporting performance. In their public remarks, the “Sing Sing” team argued that the movie’s uplifting message — that art and theater can help people find a greater sense of self-worth, as well as community — is urgently needed at a polarized political moment.
“I don’t have to tell you that the soul of the world is aching,” Domingo said before presenting the Social Justice Tribute. “We wanted to offer a story of human beings finding light in the darkness. Men finding tenderness and the keys to enlivening their humanity as they played theater games or performed Shakespeare and found pieces of their soul trapped under the rubble of their circumstances.”
The bulk of “Sing Sing’s” cast is made up of formerly incarcerated men who are alumni of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts, including Maclin. Before the Gotham Awards, Maclin told Variety about the positive impact that the program had on his life and the lives of others.
“It has the power to change one’s perception of who they are in relationship to the world and how they can contribute,” Maclin said. “It’s not designed to create actors, it’s designed to create human beings who can better contribute to society.”
“Sing Sing” is also unique in that it used a community-based compensation model, where each member of the cast and crew was paid the same rate. In addition, they all have a chance to get paid a share of the profits if the film is financially successful.
“It gave everybody involved — both above and below-the-line — ownership,” Maclin said. “It made us want to put in 110%, because it was ours. It gave the whole community a sense that we wanted to put our best into it.”
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