Many filmmakers talk about collaboration with varying degrees of seriousness. But for Singing Singing Filmmakers Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar made their breakthrough by completely overhauling the creative process.

The Dallas-based screenwriter and Austin-based director spent weeks leading an acting workshop at a maximum-security prison as part of their extensive research, but their film about an inmate-led acting program at the facility of the same name in upstate New York still lacked a certain authenticity.

Enter John “Divine G” Whitfield and Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, whose real-life relationship forms the emotional core of the film – and whose contribution to the story breathed new life into it.

“They already brought so much to the writing process, even when we were writing it in a more traditional way,” Bentley said. “When it became clear that we were going to focus on their lives and their friendship – it’s dramatized, but very real in terms of how their friendship developed and what they went through – it seemed appropriate to open up our process a little bit.”

In the film, Divine G (Colman Domingo) directs stage productions among his fellow inmates. Finding recruits with the right demeanor can be a challenge, though he tries his luck by mentoring Divine Eye (played by Maclin in his film debut), who has a reputation as a hothead prone to violent outbursts.

Divine Eye reluctantly attends an audition and gets a role in an original comedy by the theater director (Paul Raci), which hardly fits Divine G’s more classical background and tastes.

Although many of the cast are not theater enthusiasts, the project offers an escape from real-life drama, such as family problems and parole frustrations, but the premiere is jeopardized by countless distractions, self-inflicted or not.

The project began about eight years ago when Kwedar was filming a short documentary set in a prison. He came across a esquire Article with details about the Rehabilitation through Art program.

He and Bentley, who have been creative partners on feature films for more than a decade, such as Transpecos And jockeyfocused on the true staging of an original time travel musical comedy – an abrupt change from the usual RTA classics such as Macbeth or The twelve jurors.

Bentley said Divine G and Divine Eye brought emotional honesty and a fresh perspective to the design of the story and its characters.

“It was so much fun developing the script as we went along. We wanted to find the balance of making sure the story worked properly and paid off, but also leaving open the possibility for things we could never think up,” Bentley said. “We wanted to be vessels for the story, not its translators.”

Kwedar agreed: “Every time we read the script, it felt like an imitation of what was really happening in the room,” he said. “We were just trying to imitate what was happening in front of our eyes. What was happening in that room felt so alive, so refreshing, so alive.”

The duo participated in the RTA program at Green Haven, another correctional facility about 30 miles north of Sing Sing. Bentley said their training prepared them for the worst.

“It’s this incredibly depressing place. It’s like a big concrete cave. The walls are so high that you never see the horizon when you’re inside,” Bentley said. “It was incredibly profound. There was so much warmth in that room because of what these people are trying to do. Being in there and being around people who were so open and honest – we just wanted to capture that.”

Kwedar said One flew over the cuckoo’s nest was a source of inspiration because it subverted genre clichés rather than perpetuating them.

“You wouldn’t call this a film about a mental institution,” Kwedar said. “It’s a film about the community that was created there. It makes you think about the people and the clash of personalities.”

Bentley said he hoped the film would be unbiased in its portrayal of redemption and humanity amid the bleak surroundings.

“We knew we were going into a genre that was full of cliches and negative stereotypes. There’s a tendency to focus only on the worst. A maximum security prison is a horrible place and the film doesn’t try to sugarcoat that,” he said. “We didn’t want to judge these people by the worst thing they’ve ever done in their lives. The RCA program is about looking forward and moving forward and trying to find that better version of yourself.”

After the conclusion of the Dallas International Film Festival in early May Singing Singing Premieres on Friday at the Angelika Film Center. Bentley will participate in a question and answer session on August 21st following the screening at 7:15 p.m.