Daughters

Attended this screening last minute at the Hot Docs Film Festival and so glad I did.

This is a must watch documentary to see the father-daughter dance program at a prison in DC. Witness the unraveling emotions before, during & after the dance and how such a night was a life changing moment for inmates experiencing a glimpse of fatherhood for a moment in time. The effects of incarceration is sentimentally portrayed through families dealing with visitation limitations and the diminishing intimacy daughters have with their fathers behind bars as they progress through childhood.

This dance program being implemented in prisons across America has been proven to drastically reduce reincarnation rates of inmates and this emotional documentary shows why.

Real, raw, and emotional. You could feel the genuine desire to become better from the fathers for their daughters. I loved the pure, unfiltered, and honest views from both the the fathers and daughters. I loved the soundtrack. I shed tears of joy and sadness because at the end of the day, we all need that unconditional love. I also enjoyed seeing the girls grow and point of view change. The passion from the mentors was beautiful, it was uplifting and you could tell it helped improve their self esteem and confidence. The documentary was beautifully produced and directed. I also applaud the family's for being vulnerable and honest. Beautiful. Ps. Have some tissues nearby.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

"Daughters" won the Audience Awards for Festival Favorite and U. S. Documentary which is well-deserved because the documentary is a great exploration of how prison is horrifying, the connections between fathers and daughters who are separated because of prison, and the challenging both sides are able to encounter.

With strong visual presentation, discussions, and insightful conversations, filmmakers Angela Patton and Natalie Rae were able to create a profound and meaningful documentary and the themes and concepts that were explored are well-executed. Each moments that were handled felt genuine and I did get emotional when watching this one.

Overall, it's one experience to witness especially for parents and families.

This documentary is so important! It is so important for a lot of people to see, especially for those who live in America. I hope all the dads in this documentary have a close relationship with their daughters no matter happens. I hope more and more jails and prisons have this dance and that more and more change happens with these families. It was so emotional and beautiful to see these daughters with their fathers. I really hope good things and good seasons and good times happen for these families and protection and safety for them as well. So many people need to see to see what so many black men go through and black families go through.

This documentary was raw and important. It was real experiences of how important a father is to their daughter. No matter what socioeconomic status, fathers have a significant influence in a daughter's life. The importance of those who were leaders within the correctional facilities that were able to identify that this kind of raw personal experience is so important, should not be shadowed. This is rehabilitation, not only within the correctional facility, but also within the community. THIS IS HOW WE HEAL.

The daughters who were brave enough to share and display their experiences to the world. This will forever be apart of their story. The hope for the daughters to allow healthy male relationships to enter their lives, and to the fathers to allow for this rehabilitation to continue to allow them to heal and to be productive citizens within their communities.