Migration is so often conveyed as a macro idea, concerning large masses of people, that the nuances and the different lived realities of each of the migrants are missing from many studies or even media discussions.
Megha Acharya’s documentary Miles Away, being screened as part of the Long Documentary Competition section at the 15th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) stands apart, for it follows three women who are forced to migrate far away from home to work in brick kilns.
The tales of Keshkali, Gaura and Ramsakhi—the three women at the centre of the documentary—are not just about the hopelessness of the economic situation in Bundelkhand, which is the driving force of their migration. Infact, one of the most memorable images from the documentary is of them dancing in abandon, during one of the lazy evenings after work. The documentary is based on the research work done by journalist Geeta of Khabar Lahariya, a newspaper led by Dalit women with wide reach in the rural swathes of north India (The much-feted 2021 documentary Writing With Fire was based on Khabar Lahariya).
