OUR CATALOG

A luminous and courageous documentary that confronts the pain of paternal absence, FATHER’S DAY (dir. Ayana O’Shun) seeks understanding, agency, and reconciliation. Sparked by her father’s departure when she was two years old, O’Shunsets out to examine why so many fathers are absent in Black communities across North America — and how this absence shapes daughters, families, and collective futures.

Through personal reflection and intimate encounters with women in Quebec and Guadeloupe, the film traces the emotional arc of mourning an idealized father and coming to terms with reality. Expanding beyond the personal to examine the social and historical forces that fractured Black families, the film is set in the context of the enduring legacy of slavery and systemic violence. O’Shun struggles to reconcile historical truth with her own lived experience and to imagine what healing can look like today.

FATHER’S DAY balances poetic introspection with cinéma vérité portraits rooted in everyday life. Though grounded in the Black experience, the film speaks to the universality of absent or emotionally unavailable parents, inviting audiences across communities to reflect on inheritance, connection, and the possibility of renewal. While the film does not shy away from pain, it ultimately centers resilience: its protagonists refuse victimhood, choosing action, care, and transformation.