by Hanna Rantala
LONDON – The documentary “Daughters” about young girls and their imprisoned fathers is being described by its directors as a healing tool for its subjects and a game-changer for communities.
The feature film follows four young black girls; Aubrey, Santana, Razia, and Ja’Anna; who prepare for and attend a father-daughter dance behind bars.
The dance takes place at a prison in Washington, D.C., part of an initiative started in Richmond, Virginia by Angela Patton, founder of Camp Diva Leadership Academy and CEO of Girls for a Change, both nonprofit youth development groups.
“Daughters,” co-directed by Patton and Natalie Ray, charts the emotions of the girls as they prepare to see their father in person, some of them for the first time in years.
To participate in the dance, fathers have to join a 12-week program that includes group therapy sessions. They are given formal clothes to wear instead of prison uniforms.
The girls wear carefully selected costumes for dances held in the prison gymnasium.
The father-daughter duo is announced as they walk in, with other participants seated around tables decorated with flowers and candles applauding. During the dance, some people hug and hold hands, while others maintain a greater distance.
When they were filming their movie’s climactic, emotion-filled dance, Ray and Patton realized they had to keep the camera rolling.
Rae said that filming the girls for three years resulted in “a coming of age film”.
Patton said she wanted to “advance opportunities for Black girls and make sure their voices are amplified.”
“I see it as a tool for a lot of people who are doing work to strengthen families, to unite families, people who are doing criminal justice work, women who need support because they are raising their families on their own, it can be a tool for a lot of purposes,” she said.
To earn the trust of the girls and their families, Ray and Patton took the time to get to know them.
“There’s no shortcut to it,” Ray said. “It’s just the years, months and days of being around and going to birthday parties or the hospital and cooking out.”
“Daughters,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award, will begin streaming on Netflix on Aug. 14.
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