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Based on
the poignant photo-essay book Daughters of Men: Portraits of
African-American Women and Their Fathers (available November 2007
from Harper Collins-Amistad), Daughters of Men: The Documentary
will feature notable black women who have close relationships
with their fathers.
While the
HarperCollins title presents “father essays” from fourty-four
successful women such as singer/actress Beyonce Knowles, interior
designer Elaine Griffin, ABC correspondent Deborah Roberts,
newspaper publisher Elinor Tatum, Radio One CEO Cathy Hughes,
casting director Robi Reed, and curator Thelma Golden, the documentary
version of the book is meant to give voice to the fathers who’ve
invested in women like these.
The book’s
author, former advertising executive Rachel Vassel, believes that
seeing the father-daughter pairs interacting together on camera
will be tremendously impactful. “During many of the interviews
for the book, the featured women would spontaneously break down
and cry as they spoke of the love of their fathers,” Ms. Vassel
says. “I wanted to capture those sentiments on video and also
share the wit and wisdom of these exemplary African-American
fathers with the world in a way that the printed page would not
allow.”
Ms.
Vassel also felt it important to share with a broader audience the
fact that exemplary black fathers actually do exist. “Many of
the women that we were able to secure participated because they’d
never been asked about their fathers before,” said Vassel. “They
wanted to show the world that what we often see in the media is
not the entire story about African-American men, and we’re all
hoping that this documentary will give an alternative view.”
With its
universal themes of love, dedication and commitment, American
viewers of all kinds and ages will enjoy the solid advice and
secrets to success offered by the showcased fathers and daughters.
African-American viewers will appreciate the positive images of
black men presented and young or soon-to-be fathers will view this
documentary as a personal roadmap to meaningful fatherhood in
their own lives. And women, of course, will have a strong interest
in the rise of some of the most successful female executives and
leaders in America.
Behind
every successful man, the saying goes, is a good woman. Daughters
of Men shows that behind many successful women is a great father.
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