Kamala Santos
  Scriptwriter from Edinburgh.​

Projects 

The Waves
Audio Drama
​
Drama  Title:  'Glory, Glory An Edinburgh Story'

THE WAVES is a series of five explosive 25-minute audio
dramas, exploring our age of so-called ‘culture war’ through
​the lens of the legacy of the British empire.

https://tamasha.org.uk/projects/the-waves/
​A Holy Mountain Production in association with Tamasha and supported by The Audio Content Fund.
The Woodcutters
​
TV Pilot (Script in development.)
Thousands of young lumberjacks are sent from the Caribbean country of Belize to Scotland for war-work in WW2. The lumberjacks are welcomed by the villagers; however, the wealthy landowner is not happy about the new arrivals and intervenes to have the wartime volunteers sent back home.

Woodcutter Joseph McKay forms a close friendship with head-forester, Duncan Campbell, but a romance blossoms with his daughter Jenny, that will have an impact on all the young volunteers. 

Achievements: 
"I literally just finished reading the full script. Totally enjoyed it!!!! It was an engaging read - full of humanity - overcoming challenge, love, pain and forgiveness " Kareem Ferguson (Belizean Actor)
Saint Destiny
Screenplay in Development
​
Feature film proposal, 'Saint Destiny', selected for development as part of Edinburgh Film Festival Script Starter programme.

Treefellers

Documentary
​
Screened at: Glasgow Film Festival 2021

A documentary film about 800 lumberjacks who came from the Caribbean to Scotland in 1941 to cut timber for the British war effort. 

The Woodcutters screenplay written by Kamala caught the attention of Robin MacPherson and they collaborated on the documentary, directed by Sana Bilgrami.

Treefellers was nominated for a Scottish Bafta and a follow up film is in production. 

Further information about treefellers documentary 
Achievements: 
  • Scottish Bafta Nominee for best Documentary
  • Credited as Researcher: Kamala Maniam

Passion Plays

Site-specific theatre.

​The Edinburgh Passion 2020

​(Project cancelled due to coronavirus).
​
A multi-site community theatre production inspired by the tradition of Mystery Plays & Passion Plays

Pre-production press: 

Inspired by the medieval mystery plays, the Edinburgh version - where the audience follows the action through Princes Street Gardens - has been  performed annually since 2004. ​


"Written as a fast paced retelling of what is always seen as a weighty historical story, Kamala has written it in such a way to bring so many colours to the characters and the story. It really is an excellent piece of work that engaged, enthralled, moved and challenged the thousands of people who saw the play...at the height of the production, it was performed in front of 4500 people on one day. A great testament to her work."  Director, Suzanne Lofthus, Cutting Edge Theatre.
Screenplays.

The place I was born.

Drama Series Pilot - x 30 min
Young surfer Reece lives on the west coast of County Clare with his aunt after losing his parents at a young age to an arson attack on their home in one of Limerick City's notorious housing projects. As Reece battles to move from freestyle surfing to being accepted among the big wave surf community, he has another battle to face - to challenge the police's assumption, that his dad being a black man and a drug dealer was what led to his death.

Developed for director Simon Brown (simonbrowndirector.com) following an earlier collaboration on drafts of his short film 'Firelight'.

Troubled hearts.

Single Drama - x 30 min

Based on a story idea by the director Kothai Kanthan Troubled Hearts examines the challenges of Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora living in London. The children of those who were forced to flee the anti-Tamil pogroms of the 70's and 80's are now young professionals caught between establishing themselves, and facing the realities of a brutal and bloody past that continues to overshadow their lives. 

The project was shelved following the Sri Lankan Civil War which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamil's.