TRUE NORTH CALLING is a documentary series that follows the lives of several compelling, resourceful Canadians living across the North, showing what it takes to make it and achieve their dreams, in Canada’s toughest terrain.
Taking Risks
Feb 17, 2017
A team of staff in Iqaluit makes certain that a fuel transfer from tanker to fuel farm is completed without incident. Fuel manager Franco Buscemi wants to run in the next territorial government election. Raised in Ontario, Kylik Kisoun Taylor returns to Inuvik to run a tourism company. He consults an elder for guidance on a tourist promotion for the annual migration of the reindeer to the calving grounds.
Living Off the Land
Feb 24, 2017
Third-generation Yellowknife fisher Shawn Buckley passes on the tradition of fishing on ice in Great Slave Lake to his son while confronting the memories of losing his brother who fell through the ice. Organic farmers Kate Mechan and Bart Bounds, living off the grid in Takhini Valley, just north of Whitehorse, ponder their future plans in preparation for the birth of their second child.
Next Steps
Mar 3, 2017
Taylor makes a successful practice run on the reindeer migration before pitching his tour at a meeting of wholesale travel agencies in China. Buscemi makes another step towards launching his political career while highlighting challenges in the community such as poverty, high cost of living and high suicide rates.
Growing Pains
Mar 10, 2017
Spring arrives in the north. Mechan and Bounds face an interior-space issue with the birth of their second child. The cost of buying a second yurt for additional space means they have to increase their sales. Buckley had to retrieve his nets early from an early spring storm. To supplement his income, he decides to enter the tourism industry and demonstrate commercial fishing to tourists.
New Beginnings
Mar 17, 2017
Stacey Aglok MacDonald, faced challenges producing Qanurli, an Iqaluit-based television show spoken entirely in Inuktitut, including lack of local talent, a small population to audition for roles, insufficient studio space and camera gear lost during transport. Buckley can't find the crane to lift his boat out of Great Slave Lake. A contact of his finds a spot for his boat to overwinter at the dock in Back Bay.
The Future
Mar 24, 2017
Mechan and Bounds save enough money to buy the second yurt. While filming for season 6 of Qanurli, MacDonald has to deal with environmental problems (extreme cold and short daylight hours in winter) and socioeconomic challenges (unreliable internet). The reindeer migration tour from north of Inuvik to calving grounds in Richards Island is a success and Taylor stakes out the land for his future home.
