The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British Columbia in 1999. A film festival, added in 2005, was cancelled in 2010. Awards categories are numerous, and include but are not exclusive to live action, animated, adult dramatic, children's, documentary film, documentary television, feature films, short films.
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Event history
The British Columbia film and television industry provides more than 15,000 jobs and generates more than $1 billion (Canadian) in economic activity each year, making the industry an integral one to the economic and social vitality of British Columbia. The Leos were established to provide support and recognition for the work of film and television producers, writers, directors, performers and others.
In 2005, the Leo Awards Film Festival was added to the event as a means of showcasing the best in film and television production honored at the festival. However, due to limited financial resources, the festival was cancelled in 2010.
In 2016, Ameko Eks Mass Carroll, the 11-year genderfluid old star of Limina, became the first potential nominee in both the male and female categories at the Leo Awards for their role in Limina after an appeal made by the filmmakers, Joshua M. Ferguson and Florian Halbedl. The Leo Awards decision follows Kelly Mantle, best known as a former contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, as a gender-fluid identifying performer submitting paperwork for both the male and female performance categories at the 2016 Academy Awards for her role in Confessions of a Womanizer.
Award categories
Awards are given to films released in the prior calendar year. The award categories include:
The Leos also honor a group and/or an individual for outstanding achievement.
In 2010, the awards were given in 75 categories, of which 62 were technical or craft awards. In 2012, the organization created three new categories of award: best performance (voice) in an animation program or series; best casting in a feature length drama; and best casting in a dramatic series.