We’re happy to see so many VFS grads and instructors lauded with nominations for this year’s Leo Awards, B.C.’s Oscars. We shouldn’t be surprised though – three of our grads won a handful of awards last year, and another four picked up Leos the year before that!

Here’s a run-down of this year’s nominees we’ll be cheering for:

John Sawa – Sound Design grad – Best Sound Editing in a Feature Length Drama for Impact.

Rob Boutilier & Josh Mepham – Classical Animation grads – Best Direction/Storyboarding in an Animated Program or Series for Kid vs Kat “Stall that Jazz”/”The Kitty Vanishes” (* Rob is also the creator of this series!)

Jesse Davidge & John Busby – Classical Animation grads – (2 nominations!) for Best Music Video for Tupelo Honey “Morphine” and “Not Alone”.

Bastiaan Van Rooden – Digital Character Animation grad – Best Student Production for Border.

Colby Johannson – Acting grad – Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series for Reaper.

Mark Hollier – Sound Design grad – Best Overall Sound in a Short Drama for Sanguine.

Bonnie Lambie – Sound Design grad – Best Sound Editing in a Dramatic Series for The L Word

Chris McLaren – Sound Design Instructor – (2 nominations!) Best Overall Sound in a Short Drama for Valentines and Best Sound Editing in a Dramatic Series for The L Word.

Chris McIntosh – Sound Design Instructor – Best Overall Sound in an Animated Program or Series for Jibber Jabber.

Check out the complete list of 2009 Leo nominees. Congratulations to all, and good luck on May 8th and 9th!

Update: Whoops! One more name to add to the list. Film Production grad Matt Leaf was also nominated for Best Cinematography in an Information or Lifestyle Series for On Screen III “Shivers.”

Thanks for the info, Dwayne!

Update #2: Stop the presses! We found another VFS grad on the Leo Awards nominations list. Benjamin Arthur, the Acting grad who TV Guide nominated as one of the 50 Hottest Men on Fall TV last year, is up for a Leo in the Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series category for Less Than Kind.

Good luck, Benjamin and everyone else! The Celebration Awards Ceremony is tonight and the Gala Awards Ceremony is tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled for stars in Vancouver this weekend.