“Moving and complex”. This is just one of the definitions that the international press has used to describe Daughtersthe documentary film presented and awarded by audiences and critics at the last Sundance Festival and which will be released on Netflix on August 14th.
But what is he talking about? Daughtersand why it has so struck a chord with the public and the press. The protagonists of the story are Aubrey, Santana, Raziah and Ja’Ana. They are four girls, the four “daughters” of fathers detained in prison who give the title to the four-handed work by director Natalie Rae and activist Angela Patton. The author has worked for eight long years, also in contact with activists and associations, to tell the story of the impact of detention on the families of those who end up in prison and, in particular, on the members most exposed to the consequences of the absence of a parent.
In the documentary Daughters that we will see on Netflix, the four very young protagonists tell how they prepare for a special event: a dance with their respective fathers, all in prison serving a sentence. By following them and listening to them as they tell their story and their emotions, the audience will discover a resilient light and a sort of innate wisdom in these girls, struggling with the pain of the absence of their fathers, but also capable of developing strategies and thoughts to protect themselves and find tools to react to difficulties.
Because Aubrey, Santana, Raziah and Ja’Ana are four strong, mature, intelligent girls but also, despite everything, determined to dream and to protect their ability to continue to do so as long as possible. Through them, Daughters tells the harsh reality of the families of prisoners, following the meetings with the imprisoned fathers, the difficulty of keeping alive relationships that are fragmented and hindered by prison rules.
How much emotion and empathy there is in this story can already be sensed from the highly emotional trailer of the documentary. Director Natalie Rae thus manages to penetrate with a different point of view a reality that is still little told and to shed light on the complexity of family ties put to the test by the barriers of the American penal system and demonstrates that the foundations for the healing of the community lie in the family unit.
Daughtersthe documentary that tells the complex life of four daughters of prisoners will be available on Netflix starting August 14.
