A Mother Apart: On the red carpet with Staceyann Chin and Laurie Townshend at BFI Flare 2025

A Mother Apart is a stunning Canadian documentary telling the story of Staceyann Chin, a poet, performing artist and LGBTQIA+ rights activist born in Jamaica. Laurie Townshend’s debut is an examination of Chin’s motherhood and her relationship with her own mother, who abandoned her when she was only a child. It’s a powerful tale of a woman reconciling with her past.

At the BFI Flare premiere in London, Townshend discussed working on this documentary, meeting Chin for the first time and exploring her subject’s family traumas.

Staceyann Chin spoke to us about her story, motherhood, why she wanted to examine it through film and how she started trusting her director.

Jan Tracz

A Mother Apart does not have a release date yet.

Read more reviews from our BFI Flare coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the BFI Flare website here.