[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Greg Kwedar, Writer/ Director/Producer: And A24 was in the house that night and they saw the film and responded to it…
Film Courage: How did you get A24 interested in the movie [Sing Sing movie].
Greg: What’s kind of crazy is that I met with A24 almost 8 years ago when I first discovered the project. We were just having a general meeting and I was telling them about the film. One of the heads of film there, Noah Saaco, he just was like You know, prison is ripe for a cinematic upheaval. I never forgot that. Of course I was like So are we going to make it? Well guys let’s see what you can come up with? It was still very early, it’s a nascent idea.
Let me also say they weren’t part of the people who were trying to make it conform to stereotypes. Just even the act of saying that prison is right for cinematic people means he and his other colleague were seeing this potency and beauty that we saw, but all these years later we just had to make the film and put the proof in the pudding.
I don’t think anything we do should be based on/fixated on the result itself. It’s about a focus on doing good work. In the process you might be surprised who shows up to join you…
The movie premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last September. A24 was in the house that night. They saw the film and responded to it. They’re very personal around how the movie touched each of them as humans, which really spoke to us. When we were hearing their pitch because there were others at the table, and it was a bit competitive, they were also just very bold with their vision that they saw. I really respond to people who are hungry like that and bold but also compassionate.
Film Courage: What advice do you have for filmmakers whose goal it is to have an A24 movie?
Greg: You can’t…it’s like we have a scene in Jockey where these wild horses show up on this river and we knew that there were wild horses in this area but you can’t make them show up. You just have to do the work and be in a place where they might be able to arrive. I don’t think anything we should do should be based on and fixated on the result itself. It’s about a focus on doing good work. In the process you might be surprised who shows up to join you in that. Maybe that is A24, maybe that’s another partner, maybe that’s self-distribution and being out on the road yourself and four walling theaters…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
SING SING in Theaters Now!
About:
Greg Kwedar is a writer, director, and producer. He made his feature directorial debut with Transpecos, which premiered in competition at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival where it won the Audience Award. He co-wrote and produced Jockey, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition where it won the Special Jury Award for Best Actor (Clifton Collins Jr.). Jockey also won the Audience Award at the AFI Film Festival and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for theatrical release. The film was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and the John Cassavetes Award, and was one of the National Board of Review Top 10 Independent Film of 2021. Kwedar also produced Rising From Ashes, Running with Beto (Winner: SXSW Audience Award 2019), and was co-producer on Ghost Fleet (Telluride & TIFF, 2018). He has spoken to thousands of students across the country and sat on panels about his work at SXSW, Sundance, UNESCO, the United Nations, and more. His latest film Sing Sing, over seven years in the making, which he both directed and co-wrote, premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival where it was acquired by A24 for theatrical release.
MORE VIDEOS WITH GREG KWEDAR
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