First film to be released in theaters and prisons simultaneously

The first feature film to be released in theaters and prisons simultaneously is up for three Academy Awards this weekend. The film, Sing Sing, was primarily filmed in the Hudson Valley in the summer of 2022.

Based on a real-life program at the Sing Sing maximum security prison in Ossining, the film follows wrongfully-imprisoned Divine G (Colman Domingo) as he discovers solace through acting alongside other incarcerated men. The film is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Domingo’s performance, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song for “Like A Bird” by by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada.

The feature filmed primarily in Dutchess County at the Downstate Correctional Facility, and at Beacon High School in July of 2022, according to the Hudson Valley Film Commission. The production utilized several decommissioned correctional facilities for filming including Hudson Sports Complex in Warwick, which was formerly a boy's correctional school called Mid-Orange County Correctional Facility.

Inspired by the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing, the film includes several former incarcerated actors, including Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin, a Mount Vernon High School graduate, who was sentenced to Sing Sing for 17 years for robbery. In addition to the Oscar recognition, Maclin has been nominated as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the 2025 British Academy Film Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Independent Spirit Awards.

Sing Sing has been screened to nearly a million incarcerated individuals across the country. In addition, filmmakers Greg Kwedar and Clint Bently paid everyone on set – from PAs to the lead actors – “the same wage, and everyone involved in the production received equity.”

The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast live by ABC is scheduled to begin at 7pm ET.

Academy Awards Nominees

Actor in a Leading Role:

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

A Complete Unknown, Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave, Screenplay by Peter Straughan
Emilia Pérez, Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys, Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing, Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John "Divine G" Whitfield

Music (Original Song):

El Mal, from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
The Journey, from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
Like A Bird, from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
Mi Camino, from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
Never Too Late, from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin

See the full list of Oscar nominees, here: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2025. Sing Sing will be available to screen on MAX in March of 2025.

A+E