#HOTDOCS: “MY MISSING AUNT” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

My Missing Aunt is a powerful Documentary about familial secrets and harmful societal beliefs.

South Korean Filmmaker Juyeon Yang uncovers the erased existence of her aunt, who died by suicide before graduating from college. As she confronts family secrets and dating violence, she exposes generations of patriarchal damage inflicted on women to live as “good daughters.”

My Missing Aunt begins as a deeply personal story of Yang learning she had an aunt. We follow her interviews with her parents to find out who her late aunt was. It isn’t easy to hear the stories Yang includes in her interviews. Her aunt was essentially erased from her family due to being found dead in a man’s home. The worst of it might be the intentional absence of her name on the family gravestone.

It’s through confronting her dark familial secret that Yang exposes societal expectations, norms, and patriarchal damage in South Korean culture. So what begins as a personal story evolves into an exposé of culture and societal beliefs that must be challenged.

Overall, My Missing Aunt is a moving Documentary about honouring those forgotten and ensuring they’re remembered. These women lived and existed, they shouldn’t be erased.

My Missing Aunt screens at Hot Docs ’25:

April 26 at 11:45 AM at TIFF Lightbox 3

April 30 at 10:30 AM at TIFF Lightbox 2