Letters to Raya
Logline
Child assumed dead in a terrorist bombing in India. Mother refuses to believe it to be true. She continues raising her youngest child in a seaside town caravan park and trying to keep sane. She has MS and meets Charl, a South African surfer...life rolls on with lies until a crackling phone call.
Genre
Romance,Drama
Short Summary
Mother, Aisha, is raising her child in a seaside town, living a vagrant life in a caravan park. The reader assumes he eldest daughter Raya to be alive, living in India. Aisha continually writes to Raya. Charl, a tourist, offers Aisha a ride back to Tasmania. Lies get complicated.
A relationship with Charl develops and too much time has passed for her eldest child to still be alive. Aisha must face the truth and expose her months of insanity and lies. Life continues in Byron Bay, MS continues and grief...until a faint crackling phone call...'Mum?" Phone goes dead.
Setting
Caravan in Australian seaside town of Mallacoota. Launceston, Tasmania. Byron Bay, New South Wales.
Based on a True Story
No
Plot - Premise
Tragedy,Internal Journey/Rebirth
Plot - Other Elements
Philosophical Questions,Twist,Meaningful Message,Happy Ending
Mature Audience Themes
Nudity
Main Character Details
Name: Aisha
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Complex,Crazy,Desperate,Insecure,Selfless,Sexy,Funny,Romantic,Secretive,Seductive,Manipulative,Educated,Empathetic
Additional Character Details
Name: Charl
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Charming,Confident,Decisive,Empathetic,Engaging,Faithful,Flexible,Gracious,Heartthrob,Educated,Heroic,Honorable,Leader,Strong Moral Code,Seductive,Romantic,Visionary,Funny,Skillful,Sexy,Masculine
Additional Character Details
Name: Maibelle
Age: 6
Gender: Female
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Badass,Charming,Complex,Confident,Crazy,Engaging,Flexible,Naive,Outspoken,Skillful,Funny
Additional Character Details
Name: Ed
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Aggressive,Masculine,Villainous,Narcisstic,Blunt,Power Hungry,Outspoken,Sarcastic,Unapologetic,Seductive,Greedy,Desperate,Charming
Development Pitch
Life, love, loss, ill-health, secrets and family. It is character dense. A loveable heroine and funny side kick daughter have fun in the sun, until love interest, South African surfer, Charl rents a nearby caravan. Now a passionate romance begins with the undercurrent of the heroine's ill health. After a short road trip, they relocate to Tasmania briefly, before being forced to take on a friend's foster son and all move to Charl's hometown of Byron Bay. Here, the heroine is shocked to learn that her daughter's father has relocated also, providing complications. Old feelings still run deep and competition errupts. The heroine obsessively emails her eldest daughter, supposedly living in India. The viewer is unaware that the heroine is writing to an abandoned gmail account. She has been told her daughter died months ago. Unable to accept this as true, she carries on a half life, manages her youngest child's eccentricities, all while trying to invent an income and keep well. Finally, when too much time has passed for her eldest daughter's death to be a lie, she has to face some cold hard facts. We leave the funeral and relocate to Nepal. A girl regains consciousness in a tent. Slowly we piece together what has happened and Raya must make her way back to her own life. Australia seems a very long way away for the weak girl. After gathering some belongings and making her way to Delhi she calls, "Mum?" The phone dies....Raya makes it home on her mum's wedding day.