Yelda del Carmen leaves her Cuban homeland for Montreal, where she must rebuild her dance career from scratch. Before fully dedicating herself to her dance aspirations, she undertakes a unique climbing adventure in Cuba. She aims to leave a lasting imprint on history by becoming the first Cuban woman to conquer three mythical ascents.

Departures tells the story of Giralda, an undertaker who accompanies deceased human beings into their afterlife. Interpreted with the means of Spanish flamenco dance and music, and set at an old East German ship canal lift, the film creates an associative fusion between Northern and Southern Europe, movement and silence, farewell and eternity.

After Whim makes it through an unconventional audition for the dance piece Syncope, the choreographer remains unsatisfied with her full commitment. But what she and the other dancers experience in rehearsals is only a glimpse of the dark vision he will impose on them.