“I have done many of these Date with Dad programs, but I would say being able to be a co-director and put this into a film perspective has impacted my life in new ways to tell stories that spotlight and uplift Black girls,” Patton, the founder of Camp Diva Academy and CEO of Girls For A Change, a nonprofit with a mission to prepare Black girls for the world and the world for Black girls, said in an interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act.

“This has definitely been a learning curve for me,” she continued. “It’s always been important for me to make sure that we dismantle all of the negative stereotypes around Black girls that I can always share with people that have different lived experiences that are dreamers and movers and shakers and that are ready to take on the world, and watch out here they come. I’m so excited that I’m able to now share that globally, where sometimes I have felt that I was working in silos or have been isolated in the work that has advanced Black girls. So I would say that this film has changed my thinking on ways to share stories.”

As a filmmaker, Rae said watching the evolution of the young girls, Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja’Ana, throughout the filming process has been the most rewarding part of the experience.

“I think watching these girls grow up has been the greatest, most powerful joy of my life,” Rae shared. “I’ve changed as a human so much as well over the last eight years, and these families have inspired me so much. I think they’ve just re-given me belief in like our humanity, because through all these obstacles, they found forgiveness, resilience, hope, and through things that are unimaginable for what some of these folks have gone through and overcome, and still let me in to be their friend, film moments that they can work on relationships together. It just makes me believe that humans are deeply good and want connection, and it’s been such a positive, powerful experience to be that close with everyone.”

When she first embarked on this journey in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, Patton explained how reporters would come to cover the event but always kept the focus on the dance and not the daughters and their fathers and the emotional buildup to making it come full circle.

“Part of the work is making sure that these young girls, although they came up with this idea, the girls who came up with the idea 12 years ago are not the girls who may participate in it five years from now or eight years from now, so preparing them for such an emotional rollercoaster, but also a rewarding opportunity and a time where they can spend with their father that would be like no other, and making good memories,” Patton mentioned. “It was important for the viewer to see the journey that it takes to make sure that we get to this beautiful event, but also its work after the event as well. You know, talking about forgiveness and empathy and strengthening families, it is never easy.”

At one point during the film, Santana’s father, Mark, spoke about how profound this experience was for his daughter and his approach to life.

“The father-daughter dance, it was different, like I said, ’cause it’s no-touch visits in jail, so for me to be able to hug my daughter and play fight with her… it was amazing,” Mark said. “For that six hours, I wasn’t incarcerated. My mind was literally with my daughter; I wasn’t thinking about nothing. When it was time for her to go, I was confused. Like ‘Damn, wait a minute; I’m not going home with my daughter.’ So it was definitely amazing.”

He added, “Throughout my whole life I never stayed out of prison for more than I wanna say six months. It’s like, I come home; it ain’t take me six months; I was already locked up again. And me just being able to spend time with my daughter while I was locked up when they did the dance, it’s been going on four years, and I haven’t been rearrested so I would definitely say, it was definitely a life-changer for me.”

Fatherhood life coach Chad Morris worked closely with the fathers leading up to the dance and spoke to how an “under amplified voice” comes with being a Black father.

“I think for us, we have an under amplified voice, and the ability to amplify the voice through having these conversations with dads, whether they’re incarcerated or not, but particularly having them do some self-inventory, because we often don’t take care of ourselves to be able to show up effectively for our children, and that’s the major responsibility,” Morris said. “I think, for every dad in the room, I can speak to this process; I don’t assume this, but this came out through our conversations. Most of them feel as though the most honorable title they ever had was dad, not being in prison, not being this, whoever you are in the street, and whoever you are to everybody else. Mark eloquently said, ‘To my children, I’m a superhero.’ That requires us to show up, and I think for dads in the community, when they see this film, we have to remember that we need our children as much as they need us.”

Since its inception, the Date with Dad program has been responsible for jumpstarting the healing process between daughters and their fathers who are currently or have been impacted by the U.S. prison system. For over 12 years, this initiative has been a bridge toward doing the necessary work to help foster stronger relationships between incarcerated men and their children. According to the film, 95% of the fathers in the program have never returned to jail.

Daughters begins streaming on Netflix this Wednesday.