Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Daughters and Dads Come Together for One Magical, Fleeting Dance

14/08/2024

(Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)

By Patty Consolazio

This film might hold the world record for speed tear-jerkers.

In one world, two dozen girls dress up in their finest; in another, their fathers step into borrowed suits. They're coming together for a dance - a once-in-a-lifetime Daddy-Daughter Dance - at a Washington, D.C., jail, where the men are serving time.

Daughters follows four girls - Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja'Ana - as they cope with daily life separated from their dads; meanwhile, the men share their stories at group counseling sessions required in order to attend the dance.

This delicate, sometimes-painful, and inspiring film premiered January 22 at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition, followed by a Q&A with directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae. And Rae had a vision.

I was gonna protect the girls, the fathers, and the community at all costs. It wasn't going to be another jail story. It wasn't going to be another disappointment Black story. It was gonna be their story, explains Patton.

Patton and Rae surprised the premiere audience with several key people involved in the film, including Chad, the men's group facilitator; the girls; and a representative group of their mothers and fathers.

Santana's father Mark, who is now home with his family, was greeted with a standing ovation at the premiere. Clearly moved, he brushes it off, laughing, I don't need no tissue. Then he continues, I just wanna say, man, when it first started, it wasn't even about the cameras because Chad made us feel we had a safe place to open up about things we weren't used to opening up about about our personal life.

I couldn't stay outta prison for more than 90 days, I come home, I'm back locked up in 90 days, he continues. Now it's been six years [that I've been out]. And hopefully the next person can feel the same way I feel about my kids. And not being there. I'm there, and I hope the next person sees this and he feels like, you know man, I gotta step this up.

One hard truth: Some of these men are doing hard time, and sometimes the time frame for their return is uncertain. One mom stresses that fathers can always play a role, no matter what.

Even when fathers are incarcerated, they can still be fathers, said Sharida Lewis, Raziah's mom. And that's something that my husband always knew. And he always has done that wherever he is. And so I want that to be showcased, that it's not all broken relationships Some good men are behind the walls, and they still are maintaining their fatherhood.

The film ends with a message that 95 percent of the men who have participated in this program have not returned to prison.

Clearly, the creation of this film affected everyone in it. And now, Patton hopes, it affects those who see it.

It's not a film; it's not a program, she emphasizes. It's a movement. You're supposed to change something after you see what you saw today.

To see more of the magic from the 2024 Festival, click here.
LINK: https://www.sundance.org/blogs/daughters-and-dads-come-together-for-mo...
See more stories from sundance

More from Sundance Institute

08/10/2024

The DFP Team Shares 18 Sundance-Supported Nonfiction Projects Not to Miss This Fall

By Jessica Herndon What does it take to move the needle through art? An origina...

07/10/2024

A Risky Cat Seeks Another Chance in 10 Lives

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: Mo Gilligan, Chris Jenkins, and Simone Ashley at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival 10 Lives premiere at the Prospector Theatre on ...

05/10/2024

The Growing Family Album of the Documentary Film Program

By Kristin Feeley Chilean director Patricio Guzm n said, A country without documentary cinema is like a family without a photo album. We understand who we ar...

04/10/2024

Food and Country: When Farmers and Chefs Cry

Georgia farmers Will Harris and daughters Jenni Harris (right) and Jodi Harris (left) are featured in Food and Country, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance F...

03/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know 4 Latine Filmmakers With Shorts at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

A still from Daniel Barosa's Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox), which ...

02/10/2024

Release Rundown: Your Monster, Union, and More Reach Wider Audiences This October

Aspiring actor Laura (Melissa Barrera) contends with a peculiar houseguest in wr...

02/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Nora Fingscheidt, the Writer-Director of The Outrun

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

30/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Carla Gutirrez, the Director of FRIDA

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...

28/09/2024

Lakota Nation vs. United States and More Sundance-Supported Documentaries Take Home 2024 Emmys

For many September marks the end of summer or the start of school, but around he...

27/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Ramona Diaz, the Filmmaker Behind And So It Begins

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fes...

27/09/2024

Film Festival Watch: Catch These 6 Sundance-Supported Films at the New York Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon This time of year, as leaves on the trees in Central Park ch...

25/09/2024

Inside the Archives: Creating Access to Celebrate Community

2024 Documentary Producers Lab fellows, creative advisors, and staff share a moment. Photo by Lance Roth...

24/09/2024

Soak Up the Last Days of Adolescence with My Old Ass

Aubrey Plaza getting ready for My Old Ass (photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance)...

23/09/2024

A Different Kind of Funny: An Interview With Carol Kane on Between the Temples

Carol Kane, Between the Temples (photo by Presley Ann/Shutterstock for Sundance) By Matthew Eng There's a scene early in Nathan Silver's Between the...

21/09/2024

19 Sundance Movies to Watch Before Seeing These Filmmakers' New Fall 2024 Releases

By Jessica Herndon It's time to stock up on pumpkin spice everything and g...

20/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Alessandra Lacorazza, the Writer-Director Behind In The Summers

by Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

19/09/2024

Writer-Director Jennifer Kent on the 10th Anniversary of The Babadook and Horror as an Independent Art Form

Writer-director Jennifer Kent's The Babadook is returning to the big scree...

18/09/2024

A Different Man Is a Triumph That Lingers Long After Credits Role

Warning: This feature contains spoilers about the film. By Bailey Pennick Aaron Schimberg kept it brief in his introduction before A Different Man had its wor...

17/09/2024

Will & Harper Takes a True Friendship on the Road

Harper Steele and Will Ferrell (Photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance)...

16/09/2024

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story Shines a Light on a Real-Life Hero

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: Matthew Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens, Peter Ettedgui, Ian Bonhote, and William Reeve attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival...

13/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Megan Park, the Filmmaker Behind My Old Ass

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...

12/09/2024

Sundance Institute Selects Three Finalists to Host the Sundance Film Festival Beginning in 2027

Final Phase of RFP Process Will See a Decision Announced in Q1 of 2025...

12/09/2024

Skeleton Twins Is 10! Reminisce Over Surprise Musical Moments From the Comedy-Drama and Other Fest Faves

By Jessica Herndon We all have moments from movies that we love to rewatch. Som...

11/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Shuchi Talati, the Writer-Director of Girls Will Be Girls

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

10/09/2024

In The Summers: A Roller-Coaster Rite of Passage With Dad

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 22: (L-R) Alessandra Lacorazza, Emma Ramos, Kimaya Thais Limon, Ren P rez Joglar, Dreya Castillo, Luciana Elisa Quinonez, L o Mehiel,...

06/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Asmae El Moudir, the Filmmaker Behind The Mother of All Lies

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fes...

06/09/2024

Look Into My Eyes Peers Into the Lives of New York City Psychics

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 22: (L-R) Eugene Grygo, Phoebe Hoffman, Lana Wilson, Michael Kim, and Nikenya Hall attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Look Into M...

05/09/2024

Film Festival Watch: 11 Sundance-Supported Films Showing at the Toronto International Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon The buzz in Toronto for the next 11 days will be all about t...

04/09/2024

Release Rundown: What to Watch in September, From My Old Ass to In The Summers

Elliott (Maisy Stella) meets an older version of herself (Aubrey Plaza) in Megan Park's My Old Ass....

03/09/2024

Seeking Mavis Beacon Searches for an Icon of Black Representation in Technology

By Lucy Spicer Did you think Mavis Beacon was a real person? This is a question that pervades Jazmin Ren e Jones' feature directorial debut, Seeking Ma...

03/09/2024

Asmae El Moudir Uncovers Her Family's Truth in The Mother of All Lies

Asmae El Moudir with her Granny puppet (Marc Sagliocco/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...

30/08/2024

Film Festival Watch: Sundance-Supported Films to Catch at the Telluride Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon The 51st Telluride Film Festival kicks off tomorrow in Color...

29/08/2024

Dreams of Music Come True in Going Varsity in Mariachi

PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 22: The cast attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Going Varsity in Mariachi premiere at Park Avenue Theater on January 22, 2023 i...

28/08/2024

Film Festival Watch: See These 5 Sundance-Supported Films at the Venice International Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon There is no denying the Venice International Film Festival i...

28/08/2024

Inside the Archives: The Summer Trivia Season Finale

By the Archives team As the weather starts to cool down, our trivia games are also wrapping up! In this final summer 2024 edition, we're once again shining...

26/08/2024

How Filmmaking Mirrors the Identity Journey of Trans Storytellers Zackary Drucker and River Gallo

By Jessica Herndon Making a film can be unpredictable. Clearance issues may cau...

23/08/2024

I'll Be Your Mirror (2022 Festival's blood) Listens In on One Woman's Reluctance to Release Her Grief

[Editor's note: This film has changed its title since this feature originall...

23/08/2024

Love Is Weird and Wonderful in Between the Temples

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Between the Temples premiere at the Library Center Theat...

20/08/2024

From Concept to Edit, Four Sundance Festival Filmmakers Discuss the Process of Making Their First Feature

By Jessica Herndon Most filmmakers will agree that there is nothing like that i...

16/08/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss, the Filmmakers Behind War Game

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

14/08/2024

Daughters and Dads Come Together for One Magical, Fleeting Dance

(Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Patty Consolazio This film might hold the world record for speed tear-jerkers. In one ...

14/08/2024

Homecoming: Sundance Institute's Indigenous Program Makes Its Return to Hawaii

Pictured top row (L-R): Adam Piron, Kapena Liu, Sky Hopinka, Billy Roehl; bottom...

12/08/2024

Sugarcane Exposes the Atrocities at St. Joseph's Mission

Julian Brave NoiseCat hugs Chief Willie Sellars as the Sugarcane film team takes the stage following the premiere of the documentary January 20 at the 2024 Su...

09/08/2024

Good One Explores Uncomfortable Truths of Teenage Girlhood

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) India Donaldson and Lily Collias at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Good One premiere at The Ray Theatre. (Photo by Suzann...

08/08/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Rich Peppiatt, the Filmmaker Behind Kneecap

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...

07/08/2024

War Game Examines the Real Possibility of Another Insurrection in the U.S.

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 23: (L-R) Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival War Game premiere at Prospector Square Theatre on Januar...

05/08/2024

Kneecap: Sex, Drugs, and Irish Rap

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: (L-R) Rich Peppiatt, Jessica Reynolds, Liam g hAnnaidh, JJ Dochartaigh, Naoise Caireall in, Simone Kirby, and Fionnuala Fla...

02/08/2024

Ddi () Embraces the Cringier Side of Adolescence

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: Sean Wang attends the 2024 Sundance Film Festival D di ( ) premiere at The Ray Theatre. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock f...

02/08/2024

Sebastian Paints a Nonjudgmental Portrait of Sex Work

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Mikko M kel , Ruaridh Mollica, and James Watson attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Sebastian premiere at the Library C...