British Columbia pubcaster Knowledge Network is moving the first greenlit project for its Stories (Un)told doc commissioning stream into production, with a second project entering the development stage.

First announced in January 2024, the Stories (Un)told stream is a partnership between Knowledge Network and Creative BC designed to create three premium limited docuseries from mid-career to senior B.C. producers and directors that excavate or reframe important stories from the province.

The project selected from the first call for submissions for the strand, and now entering production, is Seeking Saltwater City, from Burnaby-based Black Rhino Creative. The three-part series will reveal hidden histories from British Columbia’s Chinese Canadian diaspora from the late 1700s to the present day, centred on the eventual metropolis of “Saltwater City” (the name given to Vancouver by the earliest Chinese settlers).

The series will be directed by Ryan Mah (pictured right), who will also serve as a producer alongside Daniel Berish (pictured left), Joanna Wong and Leah Mallen. The project is based on a treatment written by award-winning filmmaker Mina Shum (Double Happiness), in collaboration with Mah and Wong.

Moving into development as the winner of the second Stories (Un)told open call is Rural Med: Care on the Edge, from Vancouver’s Omnifilm Entertainment. The four-part series will profile the work of dedicated healthcare professionals operating in remote and rural communities across B.C., where they must contend with unique difficulties — including vast distances, lack of transportation infrastructure, staffing shortages and scarce resources — to keep the people they care about healthy and safe.

The series is directed by Sheona McDonald (Transplant Stories), who also serves as producer and co-writer along with Daniel Wan and Sam Halpern.

Knowledge Network will issue the third and final call for the Stories (Un)told strand in late fall 2025, which will be open exclusively to Indigenous producers living in B.C.

“Stories (Un)told is a unique opportunity for experienced B.C. producers and directors to create relevant and resonant POV documentary stories on a bigger canvas and at a budget level that allows them to realize their creative ambitions,” said Knowledge Network executive producer Sarah Jane Flynn in a statement.

This article first appeared in Realscreen

Photo courtesy of Black Rhino Creative