British actors Richard E. Grant (Bright Young Things) and Joss Ackland (K-19: The Widowmaker) have joined Canuck thesps Mark Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), Steve Cochrane and Mark O'Brien on the CBC miniseries Above and Beyond, which began shooting June 20 in Newfoundland. The project is a copro between St. John's-based Pope Productions and Toronto's Shaftesbury Films.

Helmed by Sturla Gunnarsson, Above and Beyond recounts press baron Lord Beaverbrook's daring plan to ferry aircraft from Gander, NF, across the North Atlantic to Europe during the frigid winter of 1940. The first successful flights from Newfoundland to Ireland led to the development of the Atlantic Ferry Organization, which by 1945 had helped turn the tide of WWII by delivering 20,000 aircraft from Canada to Britain.

Principal photography takes place in St. John's, Gander and Hamilton, NF, until Aug. 21. Paul Pope and Scott Garvie produce the screenplay by John W. Doyle and Lisa Porter.

The cast also includes Liane Balaban (Seven Times Lucky), local Allan Hawco (H2O) and Jonathan Scarfe (Into the West). The 2 x 120 production, with a reported budget of $9 million, will be broadcast on the Ceeb in November. British distributor Power Pictures is handling sales in the U.K.

Additional funding comes from the CTF EIP, LFP and the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation.