Lyrical, documentary following Central American mothers searching for their disappeared migrant children across Mexico and the U.S., told through the filmmaker’s perspective as an immigrant whose uncle disappeared during the Argentine dictatorship.
On the migrant trail through Mexico and the U.S., Anita and Leticia -Central American mothers- search for their missing children. In this lyrical journey across the geographies of loss, director Marialuisa Ernst finds the echoes of her own uncle’s disappearance under Argentina’s dictatorship.
A cinematic exploration of grief, hope, and the enduring power of a mother’s love.
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, premiered at DOCNYC. and True/False wining Best documentary at San Diego Latino film festival, it was 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 and the NALIP Media Summit Fellowship. She is a member of the International Documentary Association (IDA), the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA), and Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM).
DOC NYC 2026
True / False Film Festival - 2026
San Diego Latino Film Festival - 2026
SALEM Film Fest - 2026
LALIFF - 2026
Sand Diego Latino Film Fest 2026 - Best Documentary
AQUI Y ALLA 2026 - Best Documentary Jury Award
