A Goan car mechanic's adventurous journey with a stranger from India to the UK. Uncertainties, desert, snow, cultures, and faith shape their journey.
8119 Miles is a 2020 Indo/British travel drama film written and directed by Joe Eshwar. The film is based on the travel memoirs of the director himself. It tells the story of a Goan car mechanic's journey from India to the UK by road without travel documents with a stranger. The film premiered in February 2020 in which it became a semi-finalist at the prestigious Laurus Film Festival and is in the official selection of the International Refugee Film festival of Izmir, Turkey.
The project was first developed in the Malayalam language in June 2015. Principal photography commenced in Mongolia in May of 2016. In 10 days 26 scenes were shot. The second schedule was to commence in Uzbekistan in October 2016. The production studio ran out of finances and the film was dropped. In 2018, 31 Wood Side Road and Eastern Lantern Films backed the project and the principal photography began in the English language with Ranji Vijayan as the lead actor. 8119 Miles was filmed in India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, Belgium and the UK.
Gabriel D'Selva is a mechanic from Goa, Western India. His greatest dream is to visit the UK, a dream that was born from a reason only known to him. He fails to secure a visa despite several attempts. A desperate Gabriel resorts to an ancient route used by illegal migrants to travel without documents. Along with a stranger, Anil, Gabriel travels across two continents, different time zones to his destination. Uncertainties, difficulties, deserts, Snow, cultures, and faith shape their journey.
