The San Quentin Film Festival, which in October became the world’s first-ever film festival inside of a prison, is returning for a second year.
The festival was founded by Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, a filmmaker who was previously incarcerated at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, and San Quentin volunteer Cori Thomas (no relation).
“For 2025, the goal is to expand the impact by being more inclusive,” Rahsaan said in a statement. “That starts with finding ways for people incarcerated beyond the walls of San Quentin to participate too.”
“Making it possible for people to experience this population on the basis of what they can do, rather than what they have done, was everything,” Cori said. “Several of the incarcerated filmmakers who participated in the festival have since left prison and now hold internships and paid positions in the industry — something they could have only dreamed of before. We can’t wait for the magic to happen again this year!”
The festival will open for submissions on April 1. Categories include narrative and documentary short films from current or formerly incarcerated filmmakers, which will be judged by a jury of actors, filmmakers and entertainment executives not in prison; narrative and documentary feature films open to all filmmakers, judged by a jury of incarcerated people at San Quentin; and narrative and documentary pitches.
Additionally, the festival has launched an event series titled SQFF Presents, intended to bring screenings, masterclasses and panels to San Quentin throughout the year. In February, “Sing Sing” writer-director Greg Kwedar and writer-producer Clint Bentley hosted the first event in the series, a six-hour filmmaking workshop about crafting movie scenes on 16mm film. “Sing Sing” actor Sean San José, “Red Rocket” star Simon Rex and “Yellowstone” cinematographer Amy Vincent also participated in the workshop, which was supported by A24, Ethos, Be Forward Productions, Panavision and Kodak.
“This filmmaking workshop was first set in motion when we met Ryan Pagan, an incarcerated filmmaker, during the inaugural San Quentin Film Festival,” said Kwedar and Bentley. “His curiosity and undeniable passion to learn about shooting on film led to so many partners willing to lean in to make that dream a reality. And for six hours on Feb. 24, a crew of artists and actors from inside and outside the walls created magic together. Everyone there felt like it was the beginning of something special that could carry on for years, and we’re so excited to discover and be a part of where SQFF PRESENTS goes from here.”
Variety spoke to the Cori and Rahsaan Thomas about how they launched the event before attending the festival in October.
