Scott Renyard, born in Revelstoke, British Columbia, is a filmmaker, author and scientist. He graduated in 1982 from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with a B.Sc. major in Botany. Scott continued his studies at UBC through the planning school. There he studied fisheries and forestry conflicts. He graduated with a M.Sc. in resource management and regional planning in 1986. In 1985, he took a job on the film, The Boy Who Could Fly, while completing his Master’s thesis on sport fisheries.
It was, however, never part of the plan to leave his science path for a movie career. But, the shuttering of regional planning offices by the provincial government at the time turned a part-time venture into a new career. Thirty-five years later Scott has worked on more than 150 film and television projects in many capacities including writing, directing and producing.
As a screenwriter, Scott’s first writing credit was the last episode of Neon Rider, “What’s Up Doc?” for CTV/AVR Productions. Scott, later, sold spec scripts and doctored a number of others. In 1994, he founded Juggernaut Pictures, which has grown from a small independent film production company into a studio and distribution company. In 2001, Scott co-wrote and directed the one hour doc, “Project Cougar” for Discovery Channel garnering the highest ratings for a Monday night that season. The following year he directed the six-part docu-comedy series called “Check it Out” for Access Television.
Scott then wrote, directed and produced the award winning nature documentary, “Who Killed Miracle?”. In early 2014, Scott completed the remaster projects for “Living River” and “Indian Food Fishing on the Fraser River“. Later that year, he launched “The Pristine Coast” at the Vancouver International Film Festival to packed houses. The film went on to win the prestigious International Focal Award in London, England.
During the making of The Pristine Coast, Scott made not only linked the collapse of Atlantic cod populations to disease. His research contends that many of the wild fish population crashes in the northern hemisphere are due to disease outbreaks. Scott also believes that the loss of wild fish in the ocean is causing the release of more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The commonly held belief is that climate change and over fishing has been the cause of wild fish population crashes. Scott believes the real cause of wild fish populations crashes has been diseases outbreaks from viruses like Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) from global trade in live fish products primarily for the aquaculture industry. Scott argues that the loss of wild fish is causing climate change, not the other way around.
In 2010, Scott got permission to film hearings at the Cohen Commission of Inquiry. He spent nearly a year filming the testimony and produced 395 episodes entitled Exhibit 2148.
Scott went on to complete two feature documentaries based on footage recorded at the Inquiry. The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton is a film about one of the world’s most outspoken independent scientists regarding the impacts of open net pen fish farming. And the second film, entitled Trial of An Iconic Species complied the startling testimony of scientists regarding the rapid decline of the iconic Fraser River sockeye.
July 2017, Scott launched the on-line streaming service, The Green Channel, which features content about the environment. Scott’s vision for the service is to be a hub for environmental films from around the world. This would, in turn, support the independent filmmakers whose films cover a broad range of environmental issues.
In 2020, Scott completed “Save the Planet Already!” a feature comedy based on live stand up performances about the environment. “Food and Fuel: A Story of Resilience” launched in 2021 examines how dependent our food supply is on fossil fuels. In 2023, Scott created, produced and directed “Pressure Point”, a 10 part eco-comedy series and “The Firekeepers” a 7 part eco-biography series, both launching as original content on The Green Channel. Also in 2023, Scott completed and launched the feature documentary, “The Herring People”, about a group of volunteers trying to save Pacific Herring populations in Howe Sound and Burrard Inlet.
Scott has recently published the following books: The Flag that Flew Up (children’s rhyming), Who Killed Miracle? (illustrated screenplay), The Pristine Coast (illustrated screenplay), The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton (illustrated screenplay), Trial of An Iconic Species (illustrated screenplay), The Herring People (illustrated screenplay), Pressure Point: A series of Mishandled Events (screenplay collection).
Scott currently serves on the boards of the Squamish Streamkeepers, an environmental organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing salmon and herring populations. Scott also serves on the board of Moving Images Distribution, an educational distributor for independent filmmakers.