Sing Sing, the acclaimed film set in the Ossining prison about the redemptive power of the arts, took home a pair of major awards at Monday’s Gotham Awards.
Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin received the lead and supporting-performance honors, respectively, at the annual ceremony in Manhattan. (The Gothams, which pay tribute to independent and groundbreaking film and television, are gender-neutral.)
Domingo won for his starring role in the indie drama about Rehabilitation Through the Arts, a program that helps incarcerated people heal through theater, dance and music productions. Maclin was one of the formerly incarcerated men featured in the film.
Sing Sing’s ensemble also accepted a tribute award, according to The Associated Press. Cast member Sean “Dino” Johnson, spoke about the redemptive qualities of the arts.
“Standing here tonight we are proof that movies like Sing Sing don’t just entertain,” Johnson said. “They change lives.”
In the film, Divine G (Domingo), imprisoned for a crime he says he didn’t commit, is a driving force behind the prison’s theater group. After an outsider (Maclin) joins the group, the men decide to stage their first original comedy.
Maclin portrays Divine Eye (a character based on himself), who arrives with a chip on his shoulder and antipathy toward Divine G, but they eventually bond through tense rehearsals and while both face the possibility of parole.
Rehabilitation Through the Arts, based in Purchase, also offers programs at the Bedford Hills women’s prison and eight other New York State correctional facilities, and exposure from the film may provide the support for RTA to expand.
Maclin, who served more than 17 years at Sing Sing, spoke during a Q&A after a July screening at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville.
“For the guys on the inside, the message that the film conveys is that we all have potential to realize in our lives, and it takes something like RTA to believe in yourself to realize that potential,” Maclin said. “Some people never do because they don’t have that nurturing, the arts or something as powerful as RTA to really help them to realize and bring it out.”
Visit a24films.com/films/sing-sing for information about the film and rta-arts.org/ for more on Rehabilitation Through the Arts.
