Gone: The Disappearance of Aeryn Gillern on AllMovie

Aeryn Gilleran was a 34-year-old American expatriate living in Vienna, Austria and working for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization when he mysteriously disappeared in October 2007. Aeryn's mother, Kathy Gilleran, was a former police officer in upstate New York who immediately flew to Vienna to find out what became of her son. Austrian police informed Kathy that Aeryn had jumped off a bridge in what was called "spontaneous suicide," but the more Kathy learned the less she trusted this theory. In addition to his work with the UN, Aeryn was openly gay (he was nominated for the title of Mr. Gay Austria two years in a row) and he was last seen at a steam bath with a reputation for hosting politically and socially prominent men who have not come out of the closet. Is it possible the police in Vienna have been hiding the truth about Aeryn's death in order to protect individuals with money and power, and could the homophobia of the Austrian authorities play a part? Filmmakers Gretchen Morning and John Morning follow Kathy Gilleran as she tries to overcome a multitude of bureaucratic road blocks and reveal the truth about her son's passing in the documentary Gone. The film received its North American premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.