Absence is a rupture, a loss. But it also implies a quest. The film was inspired by the director’s own personal story—of the inevitable estrangement of her mother, whose memory is slowly being consumed by Alzheimer’s disease. This “anticipated separation” becomes a bridge to the film’s other subjects, who are also struggling with their own forms of absence. Carole Laganière (East End Kids) deftly weaves their stories together to explore the deepest regions of the psyche, where our sense of loss and resiliency co-exist.

Through its many voices, Absences is like a chain of life built on the immense fragility of human emotions.