Search and Rescue: North Shore Docu-Series

Knowledge Network, British Columbia’s public broadcaster, announced today the debut of the brand new documentary series Search and Rescue: North Shore, premiering on November 10th.

Search and Rescue: North Shore

The docu-series follows the highly skilled volunteer members of North Shore Rescue (“NSR”) as they find and rescue people in distress in the rugged mountains, canyons and forests of North Vancouver. 

“Until I moved to Vancouver years ago, I never fully understood how close the city was to the wilderness and its perils. My understanding grew with nightly reports on local news of lost hikers and tourists being rescued by a group called North Shore Rescue,” said Rudy Buttignol, President & CEO of Knowledge Network. “What I found truly surprising was that NSR was made up of all volunteers — highly skilled individuals putting their own lives at risk to help others. Heroes. That’s when we decided their stories needed to be told and Peg Leg Films was the independent production company to make it happen.”

Although audiences might be familiar with NSR from their headline-grabbing rescues, Search and Rescue: North Shore offers unprecedented access to the team’s selfless efforts to keep the Vancouver area safe. To capture these heroes in action, production company Peg Leg Films and director Grant Baldwin embedded with the NSR team for an entire year and remained on call 24/7 during filming. From daring helicopter mountain rescues to retrieving lost hikers and administering first aid, Baldwin’s capture of these human stories creates an incredible, never-before-seen viewing experience. 

Regarding his work embedded with the NSR team, Baldwin recalled “I remember straddling the peak of Crown mountain at 3:00am. The NSR team and my filming partner Ian were rappelling down below me to secure a fallen climber. I was just clinging to the rock trying to get a stable shot with the massive rotors of a military helicopter washing down around me. I kept thinking, what the hell am I doing up here? Then I remembered that the team doesn’t need to be here either; they volunteered for this. It makes capturing this story more meaningful.”

With over 40 active members, North Shore Rescue is one of 79 volunteer ground search and rescue organizations in the province of British Columbia. Audiences get to peek behind the curtain and get to know their rescuers over the course of the five-episode run.

Search and Rescue: North Shore is commissioned by Knowledge Network and created by Grant Baldwin and Jenny Rustemeyer. Baldwin directed the series with Rustemeyer producing. The series is executive produced by Murray Battle and Patrice Ramsay. 

Search and Rescue: North Shore will air on Knowledge Network on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from November 10 to December 8, 2020. The series will also be available to stream for free across Canada online and on the Knowledge Network app.