Producers, actors, crew members, and industry stakeholders gathered last weekend in Vancouver to celebrate the best in British Columbian film and television at the Leo Awards.

Victoria native Connor Gaston led the winners with seven awards for his film, The Devout, a drama about reincarnation and the afterlife. Gaston’s film took home a win for lead male and female performances, best picture, screen writing and editing in the motion picture category. Charlotte’s Song, a dark take on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, written by Jessica Clark-Bojin and Lindsey Mann of Done Four Productions in Vancouver, won for best musical score, cinematography, production design, costume design and makeup. In total, more than 50 programs took home Leo Awards, recognizing top talent in various categories including film, television, animation, student production, web and lifestyles series.

Over the last five years, British Columbia has become one of the top centres for screen-production excellence in North America. B.C. is quickly gaining a global reputation for excellence in production, post-production, visual effects, animation and interactive games, as well as original content by B.C.-based production companies.

B.C.’s film and television industry was recently featured in the BC Jobs Plan 4-Year Update as a sector that shows great potential for growth and will further diversify the provincial economy. Since September 2011, The BC Jobs Plan has built on the strengths of the province’s most competitive sectors, in order to keep the provincial economy diverse, strong and growing.

The film and television industry in B.C. offers a range of available jobs, from creative, to skilled trades and technical, and almost everything in between. B.C.’s talented workforce is critical to the overall success of the sector. Approximately 25,000 people work in the province’s film and television industry in well-paying, family-supporting jobs that help to bolster B.C.’s strong economy, while contributing to healthy and vibrant communities.

British Columbia’s economy expanded 3% in 2015, with the province leading all other regions in economic growth for the first time since 1997. There was a 3.6% growth in the estimated GDP of the motion picture and sound recording industries, indicating the strength of these industries in generating jobs and economic growth for the province.

Creative BC, the provincial agency established to support and promote B.C.’s creative sector, is a sponsor of the annual LEO Awards.

Quotes:

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour –

“Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners of the 2016 Leo Awards, celebrating excellence in British Columbia’s film and television industry. B.C. has become a hub for creation and innovation and I am truly proud of the talented workforce B.C’s film and television industries generate, helping to keep our province’s economy diverse, strong and growing.”

Prem Gill, CEO, CreativeBC –

“Industry initiatives, such as the LEO Awards, play an important role in recognizing and promoting B.C.’s dynamic film and television industry, which each year creates a wide range of screen-based content, ranging from feature films and TV series to documentaries. They also raise public awareness of our incredible talent and help to build local and international audiences for their productions.”

Learn More:

List of Leo Award winners: http://ow.ly/Y4Iz300Ylbu

Creative BC: http://www.creativebc.com

BC Creative Economy: http://www.gov.bc.ca/creativeeconomy