Producer Walter Daroshin welcomes back the annual celebration of the province's film and television industry -- an event he helped bring back to life in 1999 Lynne McNamara Vancouver Sun Tonight's third annual Leo Awards ceremonies are important to Walter Daroshin, but he has a special memory for the first Leos in 1996 because he produced that year's winning movie, Anne Wheeler's The War Between Us.

It was also memorable because that first Leo, the event created to celebrate excellence in British Columbia film and television production, disappeared with the collapse of its original sponsor, the B.C. Motion Picture Association. Daroshin couldn't accept the loss, so he began a two-year odyssey to resurrect the Leos and put to rest his nagging question: "Why do we, as a billion-dollar industry, the third largest production centre in North America, not take the time to celebrate our own accomplishments?"

After research showed Daroshin, an independent producer of film and television, could acquire the rights and produce the event himself, he assembled an advisory board made up of key industry players and in 1999 launched what he calls "the inaugural Leo Awards." This year the Leos, hosted by actress/comedienne Christine Lippa, feature a whopping 671 entries for 66 awards. Nominees expected to attend tonight's glitzy soldout black-tie gala at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver include Martin Cummins, whose film, We All Fall Down, is up for best feature, and Helen Shaver, nominated for best actress for her role as a prostitute in the film.

Lynne Stopkewich's gritty feature Suspicious River has earned her a best-director nod. Callum Keith Rennie and Molly Parker received best-actor and actress nominations for their roles in the film. Nicholas Lea is up for best actor for his work in the indie feature Lunch With Charles, and Winston Rekert is nominated twice for best performance in a drama series for both Call Of The Wild and ColdÊSquad. Da Vinci's Inquest has put forward two nominees for best actor -- Nicholas Campbell and Ian Tracey -- and Mysterious Ways' Alisen Down and Rae Dawn Chong are competing for best actress in a drama series.

This year's award for outstanding achievement by an individual in support of the province's film and television industry goes to Dianne Neufeld. In 1972, Neufeld, a former teacher, took over my job as script assistant at BCTV news, then moved to the station's entertainment, talk and variety shows. When she eventually began working in the small local film industry as script supervisor and production manager she began to see the industry's potential in B.C. Neufeld was named to head the B.C. Film Commission when it was established in 1978 and she held the post for 12 years, concentrating on marketing B.C. as a location for foreign film projects.

She is now developing the new Film Studies Program at Capilano College. Awards for craft, technical and lifestyle, talk and information series categories were handed out Friday night. Among the celebrity presenters tonight: Andromeda's Kevin Sorbo, Asian star Michelle Goh, along with actors Martin Cummins, Shaver, Nancy Sivak, Tom Braidwood and Monika Schnarre. And just like the Academy Awards, presenters are being adorned by local businesses. Leone is providing gowns and Birks is lending $150,000 worth of baubles. Daroshin enjoys the glamour of it all.