Prison drama “Sing Sing” captures the faith of former inmates

(RNS) – The new prison drama “Sing Sing” turns the camera on the humanity of incarcerated men and touches on themes such as faith, hope, love, confession and redemption – and lets former inmates play versions of themselves on screen.

Based on the true story of the maximum security prison Rehabilitation through art (RTA) program, founded in 1996, follows the film of prisoners who, while serving their sentences, form a theater troupe and process their emotions through musical performances and acting.

The cast includes Oscar-nominated actors Colman Domingo And Paul RaciDomingo plays John “Divine G” Whitfield, one of the founding members of the RTA who is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Raci plays Brent Buell, a playwright and theater director who has volunteered in the RTA program at Sing Sing for more than a decade.

Austin-based director Greg Kwedar said the film is “a film about the landscape of the human face” and the “thousands of stories” a face tells.

“What we film is also a radical act because (in prison) everything is designed to distance humanity,” Kwedar said. “So in the film, it's almost like an act of rebellion to get closer and actually look into someone's eyes and hear their names, stories, failures, dreams and hopes.”

In a scene where contestants audition for the lead role in RTA's latest multi-genre play, “Breakin' the Mummy's Code,” the camera captures every facial expression up close. Kwedar said he and his team realized the whole scene had an atmosphere of confession.

“This is my favorite scene in the movie,” said Kwedar.

It was understandable that former inmates were afraid to go back inside prison walls for filming. Scenes outside Sing Sing's prison were shot on location, but most of the film's scenes were shot at the decommissioned Downstate Correctional facility in New York's Hudson Valley.

“Nobody wants to voluntarily go back into a prison or put on a prison uniform because that prison uniform is an identification. The reason (the uniform) is green is because it distinguishes you from the officers who wear blue,” said Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, who was released from Sing Sing in 2012 and plays a younger and changed version of himself. In the film, Maclin starts out as a skeptic of Divine G and the RTA theater troupe, failing to see how performing Shakespearean monologues offers any form of catharsis from the harsh reality of prison life.

The real Divine G is grateful that the film shows that despite the brutality and harshness of the criminal justice system, there can still be tenderness and love between men. G and Colman Domingo worked closely together throughout filming (the two even had a scene together in which G makes a cameo appearance). G has a Masters in Theology from New York Theological Seminary and his faith in God was crucial to processing his time at Sing Sing.

“The essence of our film is about humanity, healing and hope… it is about art in its transformative and rehabilitative power,” he said. “When you deal with issues of this magnitude… you can't help but deal with the issue of the Holy Spirit and how people are motivated by the love that God shares and that we are to show to each other.”

Divine G's faith was so obvious to Domingo that the actor felt comfortable portraying aspects of G's faith on screen without much talk or consultation – Domingo knew G believed in something bigger than himself, he said.

“When you see someone who is wrongfully accused of a crime, who is in prison for a very long time, who still chooses to hope and to stand up for others, and then that person says, 'I will stand up for others too' … that is faith, that is God,” Domingo said. “People can tell you that someone has faith, but in reality it just depends on one's practices and actions.”

The cast and crew hope the film will shine a spotlight on RTA's reparation work, where less than 3% of graduates return to prison. Sing Sing's program is nationally known and supported by the local community, Broadway actors and Churches.

“This whole program is about faith,” Domingo said. “There is a generosity that is about caring for humanity, holding up a mirror to each other and telling stories.”

Kwedar hopes that more people will adopt the RTA mantra and gain confidence in the healing process.

“I think many people in the faith community also see faith as a journey and a process that is better undertaken with others rather than alone,” he said. “Trusting the process is an act of faith.”

The success of RTA depends in part on men showing their true selves and their true feelings.

“This is something we are often very afraid of because we are very afraid of being truly seen, but there is something quite electrifying about actually presenting your deepest self to someone and realizing, 'My soul is worthy of love,'” Kwedar said.

G hopes that the film will also inspire people to Gospel Call to visit the prisoners.

“They are the ones who are most oppressed,” he said. “The reality of life is that a person who is incarcerated and is abandoned has no access to the Spirit of God. People can become bitter, and you don't want them to leave prison bitter. So just going into prison and showing them love can be healing.”

Maclin hopes the film underscores that people in prison “do not abandon humanity because they have been convicted.”

“We are all human beings here,” he said.

By Zachary Lee, Religion News Service