Greg Kwedar’s “Sing Sing” is a one-of-a-kind movie set within the jail of the identical identify. Moderately than take a look at the damaged justice system, the A24 movie focuses on a gaggle of inmates and their rehabilitation by the humanities.
Colman Domingo stars as John “Divine G” Whitfield, a playwright who’s incarcerated at Sing Sing for against the law he didn’t commit. He works alongside his finest good friend Mike Mike (Sean San Jose) and program director Brent Buell (Paul Raci) to construct their appearing group on the jail. Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin performs a model of himself — somebody with a knack for appearing. Their jail appearing group meets incessantly to placed on performs.
The muse relies on a real story and the success of the Rehabilitation Via the Arts program, which was based at Sing Sing in 1996. That program has since expanded throughout New York state correctional services and contains dance, music and writing. However when it got here to the world-building and telling this explicit story, Kwedar and the movie’s crew of artisans have been delicate to the group of previously incarcerated actors who play variations of themselves.
Kwedar says, “It was one thing we have been very delicate about and did by no means need it to be a re-traumatizing expertise.”
The movie’s costume designer Andrea Marks first sought recommendation from her sister, a psychotherapist, earlier than approaching the actors. “I needed to make it possible for I used to be absolutely abreast of strategy a person who has this expertise, and be each an amazing costume designer in addition to an amazing listener.”
Marks put collectively an inventory of questions that she may ask Whitfield, Jose and Maclin, understanding it could be the primary time that they had labored with costume designers. She approached them as a good friend, moderately than a fancy dress designer asking for private photographs. She additionally enquired about their relationship to what they wore, understanding she must put them in costumes.
She had a tough time sourcing precise jail uniforms since these are made internally, and regardless that she did attain out, Marks opted for Pink Kap workwear that she then aged and distressed. The fabric was a mix of cotton and polyester. “It’s scratchy out of the field, so we softened it and made it higher to put on.”
Manufacturing designer Ruta Kiskyte noticed the world of “Sing Sing” as two parts: one of many jail actuality and the opposite of the theater actuality that existed throughout the jail actuality. Kiskyte needed one thing genuine and pure, and that was an element that was additionally essential to Kwedar and the forged. “However what is exclusive about our strategy, you see this jail that’s sunlit and pastel-colored, however there’s all the time barbed wire within the background.” Kiskyte continues, “It crushes your soul in far more nuanced methods than we count on to see in a jail film.”
With jail, there was little option to categorical persona due to what’s allowed inside. Kiskyte explains, “We actually needed to point out how our predominant characters’ [prison] cells seemed like — it was, curiously, such a thoughts map of themselves. There was virtually no ornament. Nothing was made to look prettier.”
As a substitute, Kiskyte took notes from Divine G himself and labored to be truthful in how she recreated the cells. She additionally needed to convey how that theater was created virtually out of nothing, with very minimal means to rework it into one other place.
