Biography
I’m an independent filmmaker based in Calgary, Canada. I have a background in academia, where I researched, wrote, and taught religious studies, history and philosophy. I’ve directed short documentaries for broadcast, commercial clients and non-profits. My work explores broad social issues through the lens of personal experience. I believe that films can create connection, promote understanding across cultures and communities, challenge assumptions, and spark conversations. I am currently producing a feature length documentary about two Afghan women who escaped the Taliban and try to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics as refugees (in post production). I am also directing my first feature documentary, Blue Collar, about a designer in Mumbai from the ‘untouchable’ leatherworking caste who is using fashion for social change.
I am Kamala Parel-Nuttall, a filmmaker from Calgary, Alberta. I studied Religious Studies at McGill University and then at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by a Commonwealth Scholarship for the United Kingdom. I taught at universities in the US and Canada before focusing my energies solely on making documentary films. Since then I have written, produced, and directed short documentaries for broadcast, commercial clients and non-profits. My work is informed by my interest in religion and spirituality, as well as by my experience growing up as a person of color. I am passionate about cinema and its potential to create spaces where it is possible to be carried away to experience ‘the other’. My films explore broad social issues through the lens of deeply personal experiences and seek the sublime in the ordinary. What I want to do through film is create connection, promote understanding across cultures and communities, challenge assumptions, and spark conversations. I am currently developing my first feature length documentary.
I am Kamala Parel-Nuttall, a filmmaker from Calgary, Alberta. I studied Religious Studies at McGill University and then at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by a Commonwealth Scholarship for the United Kingdom. I taught at universities in the US and Canada before focusing my energies solely on making documentary films. Since then I have written, produced, and directed short documentaries for broadcast, commercial clients and non-profits. My work is informed by my interest in religion and spirituality, as well as by my experience growing up as a person of color. I am passionate about cinema and its potential to create spaces where it is possible to be carried away to experience ‘the other’. My films explore broad social issues through the lens of deeply personal experiences and seek the sublime in the ordinary. What I want to do through film is create connection, promote understanding across cultures and communities, challenge assumptions, and spark conversations. I am currently developing my first feature length documentary.
