Incarcerated filmmakers and screenwriters arrived at San Quentin’s Media Center to take part in the first ever Reel Film Workshop.
The workshop is designed to equip aspiring filmmakers with the skills and tools to work every aspect of a movie set.
While in the midst of a global Oscar press tour, co-directors Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley of the Academy Award nominated film Sing Sing, took time to facilitate the workshop.
“We [co-directors] feel that this [San Quentin] is our most important stop during our Oscar week press tour,” said Bentley.
Kwedar said that the inspiration for the workshop spawned from a conversation at the SQ Film Festival with resident and filmmaker Ryan Pagan.
“Ryan [Pagan] was so inquisitive. Ryan asked me why we decided to shoot Sing Sing on film as opposed to digital,” said Kwedar. “This led to a fantastic conversation and Ryan expressing the need for incarcerated filmmakers to learn to shoot on film.”
Prior to the workshop, resident screenwriters submitted a one page, two-person dialogue movie scene. Residents were told that the submission selected would be performed by professional actors and filmed during the workshop.
SQ resident Todd Winkler’s scene was selected and performed in front of the cameras. Sean San Jose, one of the stars of Sing Sing, acted out Winkler’s scene.
“The Film Festival was not my first time at San Quentin. My favorite uncle was housed here,” said San Jose. “It is my honor to be here with you gentlemen and to act out this scene.”
Also in attendance was Amy Vincent, a recent recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers.
“I’m here for you. I’m here to share my many years of experience in film making with you all,” said Vincent. “Whatever your interests may be in the film industry, just get next to a person today and learn all that you can. We are dedicated to providing these tools to the incarcerated.”
Ryan Pagan expressed gratitude to the people that took the time to come San Quentin to share their craft.
“I’m speechless. Today I got to work with one of my idols, the incomparable Amy Vincent,” said Pagan. “To be able to work with industry professionals today provides us [the incarcerated] with the experience of what its like to work on a real film set. This workshop has been invaluable.”
The dedication Vincent mentioned also extends to the formerly incarcerated. A24 Films, the company that released Sing Sing, recently made an addition to their staff.
“I met them [A24 Films] at the San Quentin Film Festival,” said former San Quentin resident Jay Kim via phone interview. “When I got out, I contacted them and applied for an open marketing internship. They remembered me and made me a job offer. I was floored.”
Kim added that once he was offered the job, he informed his parole officer. He said parole told him that he could not accept the job because it did not align with his parole conditions.
Kim said he relayed this information to A24 Films. Instead of finding a different candidate for the job, Kim said the film company recreated the position to meet his parole conditions and still hired him.
“Everyone associated with the film Sing Sing is the real deal. They are really about opening doors for the incarcerated into the [film] industry,” said Kim.
Formerly incarcerated resident and workshop organizer Rahsaan “New York” Thomas said he had a message that he wanted to say to the incarcerated about the day’s events.
“There’s hope after imprisonment. There are people out here that will recognize your talent and give you an opportunity if you work hard and stay on the right path,” Thomas said.
