The Ties That Bind

At 28, Chris, who lives with multiple disabilities, longs for independence and dreams of the day when he will move out of the family home, as he has watched his brother and sister do. Chris is also determined to live apart from his aging parents, Kathleen and Bill, despite still being deeply dependent on them.

Most parents have mixed feelings when faced with the prospect of their children leaving home. But Bill and Kathleen are being called on to do something most families never have to consider. They must intentionally build a long-term network of support that may allow their son the stability to live on his own; a circle of support that will eventually replace them.

In The Ties That Bind, award-winning documentary filmmaker John Ritchie takes a first-hand look at a family's struggle to let go, when every instinct compels them to hang on. Ritchie follows the Jordan family--Kathleen, Bill, Chris and his two siblings--for almost three years. The result is an extraordinarily intimate film that reveals, with raw emotion and surprising humour, the complexity around one young man's transition toward a more independent life.