Sing Sing

At Sing Sing prison, Divine G finds a purpose inside the theatre group of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts programme. He clashes with the newly arrived Divine Eye and then brings him in. Meanwhile he is preparing for his own clemency hearing, and the real question sits there: will anyone believe he has changed. Greg Kwedar directed. The cast was built in two halves: professionals like Colman Domingo, Sean San José and Paul Raci alongside real alumni of the programme playing themselves, including Clarence Maclin, who is Divine Eye, and Jon-Adrian Velazquez. The financing was unusual too. Every member of the cast and crew agreed to the same daily rate, which lowered the budget and made profit-sharing possible. That arrangement let Black Bear Pictures fully finance the 2 million dollar film on about a month's notice. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 97 percent. Domingo was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar and Maclin for the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA. Distribution stayed limited, peaking at 191 theatres for 5.2 million dollars domestically. Major critics' organisations still named it among the best films of 2024. Who it is for: anyone wanting a concrete answer about what theatre is for, and viewers who want a prison film without the violence. Who it is not for: anyone expecting tension. Almost all of it happens in a rehearsal room.