VANCOUVER: It might be a little after-the-fact buttering up, but judges handed the best music, comedy or variety program Leo to the 21st Annual Gemini Awards, which was broadcast from Vancouver Nov. 4, 2006, the first time the event has been hosted outside of Toronto.

That left local favorite Corner Gas’ tank almost empty, a ‘big surprise,’ noted Walter Daroshin, Leo Awards president, during the June 2 gala at the Westin Bayshore, attended by 400-plus industry people.

Along with the top variety prize for producer Moyra Rodger, the Geminis also picked up the Leo for best screenwriting (Peter Kelamis, Erica Sigurdson). Corner Gas, which had been nominated for seven Leos, won only one – best performer for Janet Wright.

The ninth annual Leos event handed out prizes in 76 categories in Vancouver June 1 and 2. The awards, run by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British Columbia, celebrate excellence in film and television production by B.C. residents who work on domestic or service productions.

The short film Regarding Sarah, about an elderly woman obsessed with videotaping her life before she forgets it, was the event’s big winner with six wins. Sarah won best short for producers Michelle Porter and Amy Belling, direction and screenwriting for Porter, picture editing for Lauren Mainland, production design for Peter Ochotta, and best actress for Gina Stockdale.

The zombie feature Fido won five Leos, but missed out on the best feature prize, which went to Everything’s Gone Green and its producers Elizabeth Yake and Henrik Meyer. Generation X author Douglas Coupland won the best screenwriting Leo for Green. Fido won Leos for overall sound in a feature, makeup, visual effects, cinematography for Jan Kiesser and musical score for Don MacDonald.

Unnatural & Accidental, the feature about native women on skid row, won three Leos, including best supporting actress for Margo Kane and actor for Callum Keith Rennie, while Mount Pleasant won direction for Ross Weber and best supporting actor for Ben Ratner.

www.leoawards.com