Movies

The Story Behind Netflix’s Emotional Documentary Daughters and a Father-Daughter Dance Inside a Prison

BBG News

The Story Behind Netflix’s Emotional Documentary Daughters and a Father-Daughter Dance Inside a Prison

As a former social worker who has spent years working with families affected by incarceration, this Netflix documentary titled “Daughters” truly resonated with me on a deeply personal level. The film beautifully portrays the heart-wrenching struggle of maintaining relationships between parents and their children when one is behind bars.

As a movie buff, I can’t help but empathize with the challenges of parenthood – it’s tough enough even when things are going smoothly. But picture this: juggling the responsibilities of child-rearing while serving time behind bars. That’s a scene that’s hard to watch, isn’t it?

A recently released Netflix documentary tenderly delves into a unique predicament by showcasing a father-daughter dance event held within a Washington D.C. prison in 2019, which allowed certain inmates to bond with their young daughters for a special occasion. The movie focuses on four girls – Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja’Ana – spanning eight years, offering viewers an intimate glimpse into not just how they prepared for the dance together with their fathers within the prison walls, but also their journeys in maintaining connections with them over time.

Natalie Rae, the filmmaker, oversaw the production of the movie featuring Angela Patton. Besides being the founder of the dinner dance and Camp Diva Leadership Academy, as well as the non-profit organization Girls For A Change, Patton’s roles aim at equipping Black girls for their future lives. Her 2012 TEDxWomen talk on the genesis of the dinner-dance in Richmond, which was established that year, has amassed nearly a million views on the TED Talks platform and inspired the creation of Daughters.

In the popular speech, Patton states, “Just because a father may be confined doesn’t necessarily mean he should be excluded from his daughter’s life.”

As a movie critic, I’d say: In this film, the directors aim to shed light on the struggles families face when keeping connections with incarcerated loved ones, many of whom are denied personal visits and must resort to video calls instead. The team also emphasized that they wanted to give depth to the central Black characters, who often receive unfair treatment in media and real life. A notable aspect of this is their decision not to delve into the crimes that sentenced these men to prison, thereby allowing viewers to connect with them beyond their convictions.

The Story Behind Netflix’s Emotional Documentary Daughters and a Father-Daughter Dance Inside a Prison

In the movie, a teenage girl named Raziah, who is 15 years old, illustrates the stress brought about by being apart from her father Alonzo. Alonzo is serving a 30-year sentence and their conversations are limited to just 15 minutes at a time. This restricted contact takes a toll on Raziah. Her mother Sherita becomes emotional when discussing the two instances where Raziah expressed thoughts of ending her life. On one occasion, Sherita found Raziah on the roof of their home, prepared to jump, and managed to talk her down by explaining that suicide wouldn’t ease her father’s pain, as he is already suffering greatly.

Santana, 10, is very forthcoming about how much her father Mark’s incarceration has affected her. She’s seen in a car rehearsing what she wants to tell him when she sees him at the dance. “I’m done shedding tears because he wants to keep doing bad stuff that he shouldn’t be doing—it’s not OK. It’s affecting me.” She adds that she never wants to have children of her own. “You could give me a million dollars, still not going to be a mother.” 

In the movie, Ja’Ana’s mother Unita expresses doubts about her daughter’s imprisoned father having the chance for bonding. During a conversation, she questions why he would desire to bond with her while in prison, given that he didn’t seem interested in doing so when he was free. Essentially, she asks him: “Why do you want to connect with her now that you’re behind bars, when you didn’t seem to care about spending time with her when you were out?”

For inmates to be able to participate in the dance, they must first undergo a fatherhood coaching program led by educator Chad Morris over a period of ten weeks. During this time, Morris guides them through what he terms an “emotional roller coaster,” starting from the joy of meeting their daughters (for some, for the first time) to the subsequent readjustment after the event concludes. Patton visits one such session to discuss how eager the girls are to meet their fathers. As she elaborates on the importance of this occasion to them, she says, “This is all about mending our families. This is about fortifying our families because we understand that when our family units are strong, our community flourishes.”

The Story Behind Netflix’s Emotional Documentary Daughters and a Father-Daughter Dance Inside a Prison

At this significant occasion, fathers are provided with haircuts, suits, shirts, ties, and shoes. Scattered throughout the venue are craft stations and photo opportunities, allowing dads and their daughters to capture memories together through photographs and keepsakes. However, the atmosphere is tinged with a mix of emotions. As they dance together to Beyoncé’s “Before I Let Go,” some fathers and daughters become emotional, singing along to the poignant lyrics, “I would never, never…Never let you go.” Aubrey, who is only 5 years old, can be seen at a table urging her father to come home sooner, with him reassuring her that he’ll be out of prison when she reaches adolescence.

Research indicates that a significant number of individuals released from state prisons reoffend, with 82% being arrested again within their first decade of freedom. However, a post-dance debriefing during a fatherhood therapy session implies that programs such as this dance could potentially lower those recidivism rates. As one inmate expresses in the documentary, “That’s the day I realized I wouldn’t return to prison anymore…because of the strength I felt on that day.”

Read More

2024-08-14 17:06

Previous post Bad Monkey episode 1 and 2 recap: Florida has gone bananas!
Next post VSFighting XII: The power of fighting World Tours