Miles Away follows the everyday lives of three migrant women workers in a brick kiln in India that takes an unpredictable turn in the face of climate change and the global pandemic. What unfolds is a rare and intimate glimpse of the invisible labor of rural women workers, who endure never-ending cycles of debt and play a vital role in the literal building of rapidly urbanizing India.
Brick kiln workers in UP's Bundelkhand region face a turning point as unexpected rain halts their work. Their stories reveal the complexities of unorganized labor and the weight of economic debt.
The documentary Meelon Dur (Miles Away) stems from a research project that Khabar Lahariya worked on, in association with Dr. Michelle Buckley and Dr. Paula Chakravartty from the University of Toronto and the New York University, respectively. Apart from being Khabar Lahariya’s research partners, Dr. Buckley and Dr. Chakravartty are also the film’s producers.
The documentary has been made by a full-women crew, coming from different walks of life. The direction team consists of Megha Acharya and Geeta Devi. Megha Acharya is the film’s director and an independent film practitioner. Geeta Devi is the film’s Associate Director and a senior reporter at Khabar Lahariya. She also led the research project in 2019. Kavita Bundelkhandi, Khabar Lahariya’s editor-in-chief and Chambal Media’s CEO worked on the film in the capacity of a subject expert.