Many of North America’s grizzly bear populations are under threat, but when a mother grizzly dies, typically her cubs are euthanized or put into zoos because it’s assumed they could not survive on their own. “Grizzly Rewild” showcases five orphaned grizzly cubs being reared at the world’s only grizzly rewilding facility in Smithers, British Columbia and then follows them being released back to the wild wearing GPS collars. In a ground-breaking study, eminent bear biologist, Dr Lana Ciarniello tracks the progress of these bears over the next year to see whether they can survive without a mother to teach or protect them. It’s the first time rewilded grizzlies have ever been filmed readapting to life in the wild. If they survive – grizzly rewilding could become widely adopted to help rebuild North America’s declining grizzly populations.
Brad Quenville is a Vancouver-based documentary director, whose TV documentary career began over 35 years ago at the BBC, where he created DISABLED LIVES, a global documentary series on disability. Brad has since written and/or directed factual series for National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery, History Channel, CBC, CTV, Global TV and The Move Channel including STUNT DAWGS, HIGHWAY THRU HELL, PYROS and ICE PILOTS NWT. Brad was the showrunner, director, and writer of the Animal Planet series WILD BEAR RESCUE for which he won a Leo Award. Brad has created, directed and written documentaries including BLOOD DOLPHINS, INNOCENT TRICKS, FALL OUT!, IN BJOSSA’S WAKE, WELCOME BACK TO MOLLY’S REACH and THE DOLPHIN DEALER. Through his company Q Camera Productions Ltd, Brad produced and directed VOLUNTEERS UNLEASHED, a film about controversies of volunteer travel. Also, for THE NATURE OF THINGS, Brad recently produced and directed and wrote GRIZZLY REWILD, a documentary following a ground-breaking study on the survival of rewilded orphaned grizzly cubs. It won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award and best cinematography at the 2024 Hollywood North Film Awards, was nominated and featured at the 2024 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and recently won an Animal Behaviour Film Festival Award.
Nick Quenville is a Vancouver Island-based director of photography with experience in long and short-form documentaries, as well as doc-series. His passion lies in telling character-driven stories of social and environmental relevance. Nick’s goal is to open people’s eyes to the beauty in things that they most commonly overlook, misunderstand, or take for granted. From gardening with recovering heroin addicts in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, to exploring the remote corners of BC’s wilderness with a bear by his side, Nick has always been intrigued by nature’s impact on the people and wildlife that inhabits it. In 2016, after working on a children’s science program, Nick jumped at the opportunity to be Wild Bear Rescue’s Series Director of Photography. Following his third and final season of the series, Nick made the short film Walking with Grizzlies, as well as filming A Bear’s Necessities, which screened at the 2024 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. Most recently, Nick co-developed and DOP’d Grizzly Rewild for CBC’s The Nature of Things, winning “Best Cinematography” and “Best Documentary” at the Hollywood North Film Awards, along with nominations in both those categories at the 2024 Leo Awards and an Official Selection for the 2024 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.
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