about our founder | scott renyard

While working on Master of Science degree at the University of British Columbia, a twist of fate changed my life when I took a temporary job on the set of The Boy Who Could Fly in 1985. From that moment, I was drawn to the idea of blending science with storytelling. Twenty-five years later I’ve worked on more than 200 hours of film and television projects beginning at the bottom and working my way up. I now work as a writer, director, and producer; sometimes all at once.

As a writer, my first official gig was for the last episode of Neon Rider (“What’s Up Doc?”) for CTV/AVR Productions. In the years that followed this early credit, I sold and doctored spec scripts. In 2001, I co-wrote, directed, and coproduced the one-hour documentary Project Cougar for Discovery Canada which was a ratings success for their Monday night slot. The following year, I directed the six part educational series “Check it Out” for Access Television. Although we were on a very tight budget, this scripted dramedy/educational series was nominated for an AMPIA award for best series. We didn’t win, but the episode that got us the nod was shot in one day with visual and special effects and a large cast. It was proud moment for the entire cast and crew who worked hard to pull it off.

I slid under the producer hat for the feature film “The Green Chain” for Christal Films and I Love Trees Productions and then produced the short eco-comedy “The Green Film” which has played at dozens of festivals worldwide and most notably won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. In 2009, I produced two documentaries as a hired gun: “Dissolve: A documentary on drug facilitated sexual assault” and “The Play’s the Thing”. I finished off the year by completing “Who Killed Miracle?” which I also wrote and directed. Who Killed Miracle won a Golden Sheaf at Yorkton for best nature documentary, a Special Jury prize at Houston International Film Festival, and an Honorable Mention at Blue Ocean Film Festival. The film has international distribution and has appeared on Knowledge Network, Planete in France, and will play nationally in Canada soon.

I’m now working on four new documentaries, all with science, environment and storytelling all intertwined. The next film is a feature length affair titled, The Pristine Coast. I’ve got three hats on again and it makes for some interesting production meetings. I can tell you straight, the producer is a cheapskate. I’ve asked for a crane and he says, make do with the one with feathers out in the estuary. So much for the director throwing his creative muscle around.

I’m also Executive Producing the remastering of two delightful short films by the late Dick Harvey, The Living River and The Indian Food Fishery. Stay tuned for updates on these films.

My life away from the film and documentary world often takes me out into nature. I volunteer weekly as a streamkeeper in the Squamish Watershed. We do fish counts, rescue fry, look for habitat improvement projects, and clean garbage and other human debris from waterways, sloughs, and streams to help out the fish and other aquatic organisms. I suppose, if I have a world view, I seem to be drawn to what is wrong with the world and what can be done to fix it. So, man versus environment stories seem to play a central theme in much of my work. Although, I do like to make the occasional film just for the fun of it.