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
Executive Producer: Hallee Adelman
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