The 2015 Leo Awards roll out the red carpet for this year’s gala celebration of B.C. film and television on Sunday (June 14). Craft and technical awards were already handed out during the first of three events last Saturday (June 6), with three prizes (for cinematography, editing, and special effects) going to We Are the City’s low-budget miracle, Violent.

The same film could take the best picture and direction trophies this weekend, but the competition is stiff, with Eadweard, Black Fly, and Bad City also in the running.

Returning to host for the second year in a row, Christopher Heyerdahl has some experience of his own as a Leo winner, most recently for a role in R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour.

“The feeling of winning is indescribable,” Heyerdahl said, calling the Straight from Calgary, where he’s completing work on the newest season of Hell on Wheels. “The honour becomes very present, and suddenly you get up there and you feel tongue-tied, and the feeling of emotion is much stronger certainly than I ever thought it would be. It’s easy to say it doesn’t matter, but the bottom line is that when you do win, it means a lot.”

Heyerdahl added that giving B.C.’s film and television industry “the chance to talk in the bar” once every year is no less meaningful. “The idea really is it’s about the community coming together, and networking, and catching up because we’re all over the place. We’re so busy that rarely do we get the chance to come together.”

As for his hosting job, the actor claimed to have “very strong ideas about what I can bring to an event like this”, but refused to elaborate. We’re guessing it’s got something to do with making us all feel safe, right?

“Yes,” Heyerdahl replied. “No doubt it has something to do with the imposing six-foot-four frame.”