By John Corrado

The 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival runs from April 25th to May 5th in Toronto

In their documentary Daughters, co-directors Natalie Rae and Angela Patton offer a moving, tender look at a daddy-daughter dance for girls whose fathers are in prison. Patton is the creator of Date with Dad, a program run through her charity Girls for a Change, holding annual dances inside of jails for fathers to reconnect with their daughters. The program started in Virginia when prisons began restricting access to in-person visits, and the film documents the first dance being held at a jail in Washington, D.C.

Rae and Patton focus on four girls taking part in the dance, ranging from child to teenager; Aubrey, Santana, Ja’Ana and Raziah. Aubrey, who is five at the film’s outset, informs the camera that she is the smartest one in her class, and counts how many years (seven) her father Keith has left in his prison sentence and how old she will be by then. It’s an example of how the film can be sweet but also heartbreaking, often at the same time.

The film captures the emotions of the girls waiting to reunite with their dads, but also the remarkable vulnerability of these incarcerated men, as it takes time introducing us to the fathers as well. The men must undergo a twelve week counselling session first with Chad Morris, a life coach who has a way of connecting with them. Morris provides them space to open up about their regrets and fears (will their daughters even recognize them, since some of them were very young when their they were put away?), as well as setting expectations for the dance itself.

This is all beautifully captured by cinematographer Michael Cambio Fernandez, the camera recording the moments when these men let down their barriers. As the prison gymnasium gets transformed into a dance hall, and the men change out of their prison jumpsuits and into the formal suits provided for the evening, we sense their fears, but also a sense of hope. This is one of those films where we know what it is building up to, but seeing the dance play out is no less emotionally devastating.

Patton started the program to help raise awareness of the important role that fathers play in their daughter’s lives, believing that actually allowing prisoners physical contact might be the thing needed to make them want to turn their lives around. There is a time constraint to the dance that makes their time together bittersweet. But these fleeting moments, Patton argues, are all it takes to show both parent and child that a better life is possible. Powerful stuff.

Film Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)

Daughters screens as part of the 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.