In a faraway village called birha, missing people, mothers and tired lovers yearn to see beyond the mist. They meet each other with impenetrable silences and endless mourning. They curse the moon for witnessing their insomnia. birha situates itself in a season of waiting, where only a loud screech can register distance between loved ones.

birha is the grief, agony and anguish of separation, derived from Punjabi Sufi Poetry. Guided by birha poetry, the film captures the pain, lamentation and yearning caused by separation. Following migrant workers’ to their homes in remote villages, the film searches for missing people who left their homes to work in faraway cities, and still have not returned.

Dir. Ekta Mittal - 80min - 2018 - India - Languages: Hindi, Punjabi - Subtitles: English

"an intimate meditation on the complexities and nuances of separation, loss, and desire." - Film Comment