Daughters

Storymakers

Co-Directors: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae

Producers: Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, James Cunningham

Cinematographer: Michael “Cambio” Fernandez

Editors: Troy Josiah Lewis, Adelina Bichis

Executive Producers: Jessica Seinfeld, Joel Edgerton, Lydia Kives, Jackie Bisbee, Lance Acord, Harland Weiss, Dom Thomas, J.M. Harper, Morgan Clement, Hallee Adelman

Co-Executive Producer: Mike Hasinoff

Co-Producer: Paul Rachman

Music Supervisor: Sunny Kapoor

Sound Design/Mix: Ballad Sound & Music

Composer: Kelsey Lu

Production Companies: Object & Animal, Epoch Films, Park Pictures, XTR

In Association With: OPC Production, World of Ha, Simpson Street

Made With Support From: Subject Matter

World of HA Productions Role

Executive Producer: Hallee Adelman

 

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Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail. 

For most of the daughters, the dance will be the only time they will be able to touch or hug their fathers during sentences, some of which are as long as 20 years.

A moving lesson in empathy and forgiveness, Daughters is a result of an eight-year documentary journey that filmmaker Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, an activist advocating for “at-promise” girls, embarked upon. As Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja’Ana get ready for the special event, they speak candidly about their hopes, dreams, and disappointments. There is an innate wisdom and honesty to what they share about their dads’ inconsistent presence; an awareness far beyond their years. Daughters meaningfully challenges many stereotypes around incarceration and serves as a poignant reminder that maintaining family bonds can be both healing and empowering. We get to witness a lot of joy, but in keeping with the film’s vérité style, Rae and Patton don’t shy away from more challenging moments, including heartbreak, skepticism, reluctance to engage, and anger. But then comes a classic dad joke, and the mood shifts again.—AT