ENCORE: ‘Sing Sing’ director Greg Kwedar has big plans for pay equity

Produced by Bennett Purser & Joshua Farnham

Director Greg Kwedar (left) and actor Colman Domingo on the set of the new A24 film “Sing Sing.’ Photo credit: Phyllis Kwedar

Despite many postponements and cancellations, it’s still awards season and A24 is re-releasing Sing Sing — the true story of a group of inmates who form an acting company in the infamous prison. It’s the first film to be released simultaneously in theaters and correctional facilities, more than a thousand of them

For the occasion, we revisit our conversation with Sing Sing director Greg Kwedar. His film also holds the distinction of being among the first to guarantee everyone who worked on it received equal pay.

“We built a model on parity,” says Kwedar. “Everyone on our movie, the core cast and crew — from the star of the film, all the way through [the post production group] — we all worked for the same rate. And we all collectively own the movie as well.”

Kwedar talks about working with Oscar-contender Colman Domingo alongside formerly incarcerated men whose only acting experience came from performing in the real life Sing Sing prison acting troupe.

Credits

Guest:

Host:

Kim Masters

Producer:

Joshua Farnham