Based on a true story, the 2024 feature film, Sing Sing stars Colman Domingo as Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, who finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men
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Based on a true story, the 2024 feature film, Sing Sing stars Colman Domingo as Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, who finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men (played in the movie by a cast of formerly incarcerated actors). When a wary outsider joins the group, the men decide to stage their first original comedy, leading to a story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art. The film is directed by Greg Kwedar and released by A24.
Speakers
Mosi Eagle Since his decarceration Mosi Eagle, an alumnus of RTA and featured in the film, worked as a Coordinator and Harm Reduction counselor before he was awarded a Fellowship in the accounting and investments department at the Ford Foundation for Social Justice, which ended at the beginning of the pandemic. During the three-year pandemic, Mosi coordinated Healthcare staff - nurses and patient associates- delivering COVID-19 testing and vaccination and influenza vaccinations to teenagers facing homelessness as a result of abuse and trafficking. Just prior to his involvement in the Sing Sing movie, he worked as a counselor, guiding homeless adult males through the process of obtaining housing. The film resonates with him on multiple levels, especially in the way it shows how inclusion is more powerful and more beneficial for building a community and society than exclusion.
Peter Gomez is a versatile artist—a writer, actor, poet, storyteller and songwriter; and a public speaker. Raised in Washington Heights, New York, Peter's talent was nurtured from a young age. Despite early-stage success, he faced challenges in adolescence, leading to entanglement in street life and subsequent legal troubles. During his incarceration, Peter earned his Bachelor’s from the Bard College Prison Initiative (BPI) and found a renewed passion for the arts. In 2017, through the Rehabilitation through the Arts (RTA) program, he participated in productions such as RTA’s original production Cafe of the Heart, and Suzi Lori Park’s Father Comes Home from the Wars. Since his release in February 2024, Peter has been using his artistic talents for social change, advocating for social justice, mental health, and climate change. He has performed in Compagnia Colombari’s production Whitman on the Walls, and in the King Lear production at Yale University Theatre and at La MaMa ETC. While sharing his voice through artistic platforms, Peter demonstrates the transformative power of the arts and the resilience of the human spirit.
Dario Peña is a Fellow and a Success, Reentry, and Community Partnerships Manager for Justice Through Code program at Columbia University. Dario was a member of the RTA program from 2001-2018 while incarcerated at Sing Sing prison. He was a cast member in the 2005 original production of Breaking The Mummy's Code at Sing Sing. RTA was the catalyst that changed the trajectory of Dario's life. He continues bearing its fruits and pays them forward.
James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter (The Ice Storm), producer (Brokeback Mountain), and former CEO of Focus Features (Dallas Buyers Club, Lost in Translation, Milk, The Pianist). His feature directorial debut, an adaptation of Philip Roth's Indignation, starring Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, and Tracy Letts, premiered at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals and was released by Roadside Attractions. He created, executive produced, and was showrunner on the hit Mexican limited series for Netflix, Somos. Works from his New York-based production company, Symbolic Exchange, include Kitty Green’s The Assistant, starring Julia Garner; Andrew Ahn’s Driveways, starring Hong Chau and the late Brian Dennehy; Rhys Ernst’s award-winning trans comedy Adam, starring Margaret Qualley; Minhal Baig’s acclaimed We Grown Now, which was released by Sony Classics; and Mike Ott’s McVeigh, starring Alfie Allen and Tracy Letts, which premiered this year at the Tribeca Film Festival. Symbolic is currently in production on Andrew Ahn’s reboot of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Joan Chen, Kelly Marie Tran, and Youn Yuh-jung. Schamus is currently collaborating with composer Huang Ruo on an opera for The Met, and is Consulting Producer on the next TV series from the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things). Schamus is Professor of Professional Practice in Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where he teaches film history and theory. He served last year on the negotiating committee of the Writers Guild of America during their successful five-month strike.