Sing Sing (2023 | USA | 107 minutes | Greg Kwedar)

SIFF’s closing night came a day early, a scheduling change that also made the final spotlight feature eligible for the Audience Awards. After seeing Sing Sing and its cast win the hearts of every person at SIFF Downtown, I would have been shocked if anything else won the coveted Golden Space Needle the next morning.

Inspired by an Esquire article, “The Sing Sing Follies” the film also tells the story the men at Sing Sing correctional facility’s Rehabilitation through the Arts (RTA) program staging a time-traveling musical comedy entitled Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code. Colman Domingo is spectacular and nuanced as John “Divine G” Whitfield, convicted of a felony he did not commit, whose time in the prison system was spent in law libraries, writing screenplays, and in the leadership of RTA. He embodies the real Divine G’s sincere commitment to the organization, readiness to bring others into the fold, and enthusiasm for sharing the transformative power of theater with others. The film’s core trio is rounded out by Paul Raci as the production’s director/spiritual guide and Sean San José as Divine’s cellmate neighbor and closest friend. Much of the cast, though, spotlights formerly incarcerated actors who were alumni of the program who hold their own alongside the seasoned professionals.

The directors share story-by credits with Whitfield and Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, lending their experience in prison and the program to give the film a true sense of authenticity. As such, we come to know the men not for the crimes that brought them to the institution, but instead of their full complex richness of their lived experiences. As the production comes together, friendships are forged through conflict and kindness and the men help each other to rediscover their humanity and change the world from inside concrete walls and razor wire fences. Serious business, yes, but the whole thing is populated by tremendous performances that counterbalance the mood with lightness, humor, and hope. The deep investment of everyone involved earned it a well deserved, a teary-eyed, heartfelt, standing ovation to close out the festival.

No additional SIFF screenings; opens in nationwide release later this year.

Ghostlight (2024 | USA | 110 minutes | Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson)

Directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson leverage the chemistry of a real-life family in crafting a drama about a working-class Chicago-area household reeling from the aftershocks of an unspecified trauma and the stress of a looming lawsuit. Belligerent daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) faces expulsion from her high school for a bathroom break incident. Exasperated mother Sharon (Tara Mallen) is at her wit’s end, barely holding her grief at bay for the sake of others. Gruff but caring father Dan (Keith Kupferer) has receded into his construction job, jackhammering concrete all day while repressing his turbulent feelings.

When his pain erupts through his thick emotional callus in a fit of public rage, he catches the attention of prickly actress Rita (Dolly de Leon). The alchemy of her grounded presence and his barely suppressed desperation convinces him to gingerly dip his toes into a ramshackle community theatre’s production of “Romeo & Juliet.” Dan’s gently comedic entry into the dramatic arts, complete with its array of colorful characters, proves to be an unexpected outlet for catharsis. Filmed with rare intimacy, the mounting parallels between Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy and the real pains of a wounded family culminate in a rousing testament to the enduring and transformative power of treading the boards.

Review originally published as part of the SIFF guide.