The 2015 Leo Awards celebrate a banner year for BC’s motion picture industry

With a record number of nominees, and close to 100 awards given out over three nights, the 2015 LEO Awards were a wonderful celebration of creative and technical achievement in BC’s motion picture industry.

As one of the main sponsors of the 2015 LEO Awards, Creative BC was honoured to be at the Gala Awards Ceremony held on Sunday night, June 14th  and witness the incredible talent that exists right here at home. Pride in BC’s industry was evident in many of the acceptance speeches.

Motive, produced by Lark Productions, was one of the top winners receiving awards for Best Dramatic Television Series, Best Lead Performance by a male, Best Picture Editing, Best Screenwriting and Best Direction. Filmed in Vancouver, this popular crime drama shows how BC’s production community is creating compelling stories that compete head to head with American heavy hitters. With 1.3 million viewers each week on CTV, Motive attracts almost double the audience of the critically acclaimed Mad Men.

Violent, the feature film debut from Andrew Huculiak (drummer of the BC rock band We Are The City) received eight awards including Best Motion Picture, Best Direction, Best Screenwriting, Best Musical Score, Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Picture and Best Visual Effects.  Written by four guys in a house in east Vancouver, and shot on location in Norway, Violent is “for all filmmakers who circumvent conventional means when chasing a dream.”

 “I’m very excited about what’s going on in BC’s independent film industry,” commented Gabrielle Rose, winner for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture for Two 4 One.  “It’s been a banner year.”

Danny Virtue was honoured with an Outstanding Achievement Award.  With more than 300 television and film credits to his name, including the landmark Canadian series, Neon Rider, Danny is a mentor to many members of the BC Production community and recognized globally for his many accomplishments.

BC’s animation industry was also recognized for its innovation in storytelling with Bron Studios receiving the 2015 Leo Award for best animation program or series for Mighty Mighty Monsters: Pranks for the Memories.

The LEO Awards are organized by the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate and promote the achievements of the British Columbia film and television industry.

For a complete list of the award winners, click here.

The Government of British Columbia released a statement congratulating all the winners.  Please click here for further information.

News articles and celebrity interviews and photos during the red carpet.

Vancouver Sun story

Pictures at the Red Carpet

Westender story

Photo credit:  Courtesy of Motive Productions.