A Father-Daughter dance is a rite of passage for many young girls. I remember my first dance, a cowboy-themed event sponsored by my Brownie troop. I may have only been five or six years old, but that special memory has stuck with me all these years later. In co-directors Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s touching documentary Daughters, four young girls reunite with their incarcerated fathers as they prepare for their first Daddy-Daughter Dance, held in the gymnasium of a Washington, D.C., jail. As a viewer, be prepared to feel a wide range of emotions, from compassion and joy to heartbreak and sorrow. Daughters is a sentimental love letter to the irreplaceable bond between parent and child.

Daughters is a tenderly told observational film that follows 5-year-old Aubrey, 10-year-old Santana, 11-year-old Ja’Ana, and 15-year-old Raziah as they navigate the complex emotions of meeting their absentee fathers, face to face, for the first time in years. The “Date with Dad” program, conceived by co-director Angela Patton, has been established to connect incarcerated men with their children and allow these fathers the opportunity to re-commit their loyalty, love, and long-term devotion to their families. The men who participate in this program commit to a 10-week program, led by a life coach who specializes in fatherhood counseling. Over those 10 weeks, while their daughters are simultaneously anticipating this reunification, the men learn about the importance of stability in a child’s life, and the “Date with Dad” event gives them a first step in fostering a brand new relationship.

Everyone who participates in this documentary, which took over eight years to complete, deserves recognition for putting their vulnerability on full display. There are many moments throughout the film that will have you reaching for tissues, a few standouts for me include when the men trade their jumpsuits for dress suits, and relying on the older inmates to teach them how to tie a tie. Outside the prison walls, the young girls get their nails done and slip into princess-like dresses, some even embellished with little tiaras. Of course, the dance and the countdown toward saying goodbye were so emotional that I almost had to pause and collect myself. It will be a rare audience member who can get through these poignant father-daughter scenes with a dry eye.

Rae, an award-winning director with a focus on women’s rights, and Patton, the CEO of Girls For A Change, are the momentum behind capturing the Daddy Daughter Dance as they navigate this unique and intimate experience with respect and compassion. The four girls who are at the center of the film handle themselves with an empathetic maturity that is both admirable and astonishing to witness. They are wise beyond their years, some more skeptical about their father’s promises, but one thing they have in common is the hope that this is the start of a life-changing evolution and that one day soon, their fathers will come home.

Shot in cinema vérité style, Daughters is a devastatingly poignant film about the importance of commitment within a family, even when the odds are stacked against you. It reveals a bittersweet reality that many families experience, complete with dynamic emotions and a quiet optimism, reminding us that love can prevail from prison walls.

Daughters won both the Festival Favorite Award and the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.