Leo is one of Hollywood’s most recognized names. Here in British Columbia things are no different. Although the Leo Awards don’t represent our favorite actor from Titanic, they do generate an equal amount of local entertainment buzz.The Leo Awards honour BC’s best film and television productions for achievement and talent. In the category most relevant to VFS students, Best Student Production , VFS projects have earned a stunning five out of five possible nominations for the 2004 annual event, to be held May 27-28.

Andrew Park’s animated short Doggy Style is nominated alongside 2D classmates Kevin Elam for No Comply, Julia Gohle’s Drawn Life, and Irvan Hanafl’s The Glass Sword. Film student Dan West is also nominated for the short film Alarium, which he produced with classmates Adam Bagatto, Craig Rice, Joel Smith, John Garland, Julien Freeman, Lori Lozinski, Pat Hickey, Steve Deneault, and Steve Lucas.

True to VFS’s integrative production approach, VFS Sound Design students collaborated on several of these projects by composing scores and sound. Jeremy Pak and Carlos Eduardo Rojas worked on Doggy Style and The Glass Sword.

In addition to student achievements, VFS graduate Gary Hawes’s film Pits grabbed nominations in Best Overall Sound, Best Production Design, and Best Musical Score in the Short Film category. And VFS faculty are being honoured with their own nominations, as well as the opportunity to sit as jurors for the awards. Film Editing Instructor Mark Lemmon picked up a Best Picture Editing nomination for his work on his locally shot comedy The Delicate Art of Parking, a mockumentary masterpiece currently playing in theatres.

Meanwhile, Head of Writing Robert Gray and Film instructor Bruce Marchfelder are both on the jury. Jurors have a difficult road ahead, as all five nominated films stretch their respected genres to new dimensions. “I was very pleased to participate because without the Leos many of us would not be aware of our amazing talent base, ” says Dr Gray. ” As a jury, we were impressed with the quality of work coming out of BC, the talent of our actors, and the exciting stories being told.”