Decades after the disappearance of her uncle during Argentina’s dictatorship, filmmaker Marialuisa Ernst joins the Caravan of Mothers, a group of Central American women traveling the migrant trail in search of loved ones who have disappeared trying to reach the US.
SYNOPSIS
A Place of Absence is a lyrical, evocative documentary exploring the enduring grief of ambiguous loss. The film follows the Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants on their 2,500-mile journey through Mexico as they search for their disappeared children. These mothers transform grief into activism—visiting shelters, brothels, mass graves, and government offices, holding up photographs of their children, and demanding answers and justice.
Their struggle mirrors that of filmmaker Marialuisa’s family: her uncle Guillermo disappeared during Argentina’s dictatorship, leaving her mother in limbo for decades. Constructed as a cinematic essay, Marialuisa weaves her family’s story through poetic narration with that of the Caravan Mothers, creating a portrait of collective mourning and resistance.
We meet Anita, whose son disappeared sixteen years ago, and Leticia, searching for her daughter Merza for fourteen years. Scenes of intimate rituals, vérité encounters, and artistic installations of flowers and photographs show how the mothers cope with absence and transform grief into action.
The film illuminates the human cost of disappearance, the intergenerational trauma it creates, and the courage and solidarity forged in response. By centering the voices of mothers, A Place of Absence becomes both a meditation on loss and a call for collective remembrance and justice.
Director Statement
A documentary can be a seed. Just as my uncle planted one in me, I hope this film grows into a tree that offers remembrance, hope, and space to imagine a different future—one where art becomes a site of healing, solidarity, and change.
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director/Producer Marialuisa Ernst
Marialuisa Ernst is a New York–based queer transcultural artist originally from Bolivia and Chile. Over the past decade, she has created intimate, political cinema shaped by her background in performance art. Her work explores personal loss, memory, and the invisible threads that connect humanity beyond nationality and borders.
A Place of Absence is her feature debut, supported by the Tribeca Gucci Fund, Firelight Media, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the NYC Women’s Fund. The film has been selected for the DOC NYC Forum, the Gotham (formerly IFP) Lab, the Tribeca Film Network, Visions du Réel Industry Network, DCTV’s WIP Lab, the BGDM Feedback Loop, the NALIP Media Summit Fellowship, and FEMCINE Work in Progress. She is a member of the International Documentary Association (IDA), the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA), and Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM).
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