Burnaby, B.C. (June 4, 2024) – New work by Marie Clements and Mina Shum among slate of production and development projects green-lit by Knowledge Network. Reclaim My Skin is a creatively audacious three-part limited series about reclaiming Indigenous women’s history and authority from different nations across Turtle Island. Acclaimed filmmaker Marie Clements (Bones of Crows, The Road Forward) is writing and directing this series, employing her signature blend of music, choreography and stylized documentary techniques. The creative treatment has been developed in close collaboration with the multi-award winning artist Pura Fé. The series is being produced by Clements and long-time producing partner Trish Dolman through RMS (BC) Media Inc. (a subsidiary of MCM2 and Screen Siren Pictures) in collaboration with Rezolution Pictures International Inc. 

Illustrated Legacies is a documentary-animation hybrid drawing from oral traditions, recorded history, and community memory. Produced by Two Hounds Media and directed by Cree/Métis filmmaker Tanner Zurkoski with producer Patti Poskitt, it tells the story of gunboat diplomacy on the west coast centering around the sinking of the Kingfisher. Through a blend of hand-drawn animation led by Indigenous artists, live-action interviews, and archival footage, the film brings to life the oral histories living within Nuu-Chah-Nulth communities and brings them to life authentically. 

Spring After Spring follows the story of Vancouver Chinatown legend Maria Mimie Ho, the founder of the Strathcona Chinese Dance Company. Her sudden passing leaves her three daughters to navigate their mother’s legacy. Produced and directed by Jon Chiang of Chifa Studios Inc. with Joanna Wong, the film explores tradition, love and community as the sisters come together to choreograph 100 dancers for the annual Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade. 

Knowledge, in partnership with Creative BC and funded by the Province of British Columbia, has also moved the first project in its recently announced Stories (Un)told commissioning stream into development. Seeking Saltwater (working title) is a three-part series that moves between past and present to tell an intimate story of Chinese-Canadians in B.C. Black Rhino Creative Inc is leading the project, with award-winning filmmaker Mina Shum (Meditation Park, The Ninth Floor) as writer and director backed by producers Daniel Berish, Ryan Mah, Joanna Wong and Leah Mallen. Seeking Saltwater is a timely and inventive reimagining of the Chinese-Canadian experience that excavates the layers of who we once were, who we are now and what we hope to become in the future. 

“Documentaries that reframe what we think we know about our collective past and therefore our present and possible futures are one of the most riveting forms of storytelling” said Patrice Ramsay, Senior Manager, Independent Production. “We are excited to be working with these talented BC filmmakers to bring these compelling stories to life for our viewers.” 

About Knowledge Network: Knowledge Network is British Columbia’s viewer-supported public educational broadcaster and streamer. Available on television throughout the province of British Columbia and on streaming platforms across Canada, we feature Knowledge Original documentaries commissioned from B.C.- based producers; curated dramas, premium factual series and documentaries from around the globe; and quality programming for pre-schoolers and parents. Our service is free and commercial free. 

For more information, visit www.knowledge.ca