San Quentin Film Festival to Return to Bay Area Prison for a Second Year; ‘Sing Sing’ Producers Launch Masterclasses for Incarcerated Men (EXCLUSIVE)

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The San Quentin Film Festival, last seen as the inaugural film event held within a prison in October, is set to make a comeback for its second edition.

The festival originated from two individuals: Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, a former inmate from the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center turned filmmaker, and Cori Thomas, a volunteer at San Quentin who shares no familial connection with him.

Rahsaan stated that for the year 2025, our aim is to broaden our influence by promoting inclusivity. This initiative begins by discovering methods to involve individuals who are incarcerated outside of San Quentin’s walls as well.

Cori stated that enabling individuals to participate based on their abilities, not their past actions, was crucial. Remarkably, some filmmakers who were previously incarcerated and joined the festival have since secured internships and jobs within the industry – opportunities they could hardly imagine before. We eagerly anticipate the event’s magic to repeat itself this year!”

“Cori emphasized that allowing people to take part based on their skills, not their history, was key. It’s inspiring to see that some filmmakers who were formerly incarcerated and participated in the festival have gone on to secure internships and jobs within the industry – a dream they never thought possible before. We can hardly wait for this year’s event to bring more magic!

The festival begins accepting entries on the 1st of April, with the following categories: short films (narrative and documentary) produced by current or past inmates, evaluated by a panel consisting of actors, movie makers, and entertainment industry leaders who are not behind bars; narrative and documentary full-length movies that are open to all filmmakers, assessed by a jury made up of inmates at San Quentin; and narrative and documentary pitch ideas.

The festival starts accepting applications on April 1st. It has three types of entries: short films from current or ex-prisoners (narrative and documentary), judged by non-incarcerated people like actors, directors, and entertainment executives; full-length narrative and documentary movies open to all filmmakers, judged by inmates at San Quentin; and ideas for narrative and documentary films.

Furthermore, the festival has initiated a series of events called SQFF Presents, aimed at offering screenings, masterclasses, and discussions at San Quentin throughout the year. The inaugural event was held in February with “Sing Sing” filmmakers Greg Kwedar (writer-director) and Clint Bentley (writer-producer) conducting a six-hour workshop on creating movie scenes using 16mm film. Notable participants included actor Sean San José from “Sing Sing”, Simon Rex, the star of “Red Rocket”, and Amy Vincent, cinematographer for “Yellowstone”. This event was backed by A24, Ethos, Be Forward Productions, Panavision, and Kodak.

Kwedar and Bentley shared that the filmmaking workshop originated when they encountered Ryan Pagan, a filmmaker confined in prison, at the first San Quentin Film Festival. His eagerness and unmatched enthusiasm to grasp the art of shooting on film inspired numerous collaborators to help make his vision come true. On February 24th, for six hours, a team of artists and performers, both inside and outside the prison, crafted something extraordinary together. There was an overwhelming sense that this event marked the start of something significant with potential longevity, and we’re thrilled to see where SQFF PRESENTS will progress in the coming years.

Before heading to the October festival, EbMaster had a conversation with Cori and Rahsaan Thomas regarding the process of organizing the event that they had previously launched.

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2025-03-27 21:46