Canada's Oscar hopefuls gather in L.A.

Its an annual Oscar custom than Canadians nominated for the awardsare invited bythe Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles for a lunch to honour their achievement.

This year the consulate extended invitations to18 nominees, ranging from Hollywood insider Howard Shore to NFB animator Patrick Doyon. Consul General David Fransen hosted the reception Thursday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

The big Canadian hope for Sundays Academy Awards is Monsieur Lazhar, the charming story of an Algerian immigrant who steps in to teach a middle-school class struggling with the death of a beloved teacher. The nominee for best foreign-language film was directed by Quebec'sPhilippe Falardeau, who shares the nomination with producers Luc Dry and Kim McCraw. Its not Drys first brush with the Oscarshe also produced Incendies, which was nominated for best foreign language film last year.

The sole Canadian performer in the running is Christopher Plummer, the veteran of stage and screen who has his second Oscar nomination for best supporting actor with Beginners. In the offbeat comedy, Plummer plays a widower who comes out to his son after the death of his wife.

He did not attend the lunch, but Beginners was represented by Toronto producer Miranda de Pencier.

The full list of Canadian Oscar nominees:

• Howard Shore, for best original score for Hugo. The Toronto-born composer has written scores for more than 80 movies and won three Oscars.
• Eric Jordan and Paul Stephens, Canadian producers ofinternational co-production In Darkness, in best foreign film category.
• Patrick Doyon, the National Film Board illustrator nominated for best short animated film for Sunday/Dimanche.
• Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, the NFB team nominated for best short animated film for Wild Life. It is their second nomination together and the third for Tilby.
• David Giammarco, nominated for best sound mixing for Moneyball. This is the second Oscar nomination for the Welland, Ont.-born sound engineer.
• Andrew Clinton and Mark Elendt of Side Effects Software, ho won best technical achievement for 3D software.
• Raigo Alas, Greg Marsden, Michael Lewis and Michael Vellekoop who won a scientific and engineering award for the Pictorvision Eclipse camera platform.
• Ian Caven, a Burnaby, B.C., who was part ofthe five-member team that developed the Lowry Process for noise reduction.

The technical and scientific achievement awardshave been handed out. The Academy Awards gala is Sunday night in Los Angeles.