Illuminated Film Company

The Illuminated Film Company[1] is a British animation company founded in 1993 by Iain Harvey.[2] It has produced the series Little Princess (2006-2022) and the ITV children's surreal comedy series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud (2019–present) and other 2D-animated productions such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories, War Game and On Angel Wings.

The Illuminated Film Company
Company typeProduction company
IndustryEntertainment
Founded1993; 31 years ago (1993)
FoundersIain Harvey
Headquarters,
England
Websitewww.illuminatedfilms.com

History

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Early in 1993, Iain Harvey formed The Illuminated Film Company, now located in Hammersmith, London.

Under Illuminated, he produced The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories, based on Eric Carle's books. This programme was released in America on the Disney video label.

Illuminated has completed four series, as well as two 22 minutes specials, of the four times BAFTA nominated animated pre-school series Little Princess (135 x 11 mins and 2 x 22 mins). It was first broadcast in the UK in October 2006 by Channel 5 on its Milkshake platform. Little Princess has now been sold and broadcast to over 140 territories around the world. The show won a Cairo Golden Award for Best TV Film, the first prize for Best TV film in The Fifth Tehran International Festival and first prize in the Best Animated Series category at The 14th Stuttgart International Festival. It has also received four BAFTA nominations.

In 2014, Illuminated Films completed production on a 30-minute animated special – On Angel Wings which is based upon a picture-book by world-renowned author Michael Morpurgo.

In 2019, Illuminated produced a commercial for the designer brand Barbour featuring the character Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs for their Christmas campaign. Following its success, Illuminated Films produced a second commercial for Barbour in 2020 for their Christmas campaign featuring Father Christmas.

By way of contrast, Illuminated has completed production of a new surreal comedy series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud commissioned by ITV for broadcast in the UK and sold to ABC (Australia), SVT (Sweden) and Beta Films for international distribution. Following successful ratings from the first series, ITV have commissioned a second series of 52 episodes that is currently airing on CITV.

Future

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In 2020, Illuminated Films was awarded funding from the BFI Young Audience Content Fund for a half-hour special called A Bear Named Wojtek (bear). It is based on a true story about an orphaned bear in WWII that is enlisted into the Polish army and travels to Scotland before ending up at Edinburgh Zoo. It is currently in production and due to be released in 2024.

List of productions

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Illuminated Films Company has produced a number of animated features, shorts, and TV series, as well as adverts.

Adverts

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  • Barbour Christmas (2012)
  • Barbour Christmas (2019)
  • Barbour Christmas (2020)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Production Result
2024 Broadcast Awards Best Children's Programme The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Nominated[3]
2022 RTS Programme Awards Children's Programme The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Won[4]
2022 British Animation Awards Writers Award The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Twinfestation – Madeleine Brettingham Nominated[5]
2022 British Animation Awards Best Use of Sound The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Burning Wheels - shared with Fonic Nominated[6]
2022 Broadcast Awards Best Children's Programme The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Nominated[7]
2021 Broadcast Awards Best Children's Programme The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Nominated[8]
2020 British Animation Awards Best Voice Performance The Cast - The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Nominated[9]
2020 British Animation Awards Best Children's Series award The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Nominated[10]
2008 BAFTA Best Pre-School Series Little Princess (TV series) Nominated
2007 BAFTA Best Pre-School Series Little Princess (TV series) Nominated
2002 British Animation Awards Children's Choice Award War Game Won
1998 LAFCA Award Best Animation T.R.A.N.S.I.T Won

References

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  1. ^ "With Illuminated Film Company (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  2. ^ "BFI Film & TV Database". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  3. ^ "Best Children's Programme".
  4. ^ "Winners of the RTS Programme Awards 2022 announced". 30 March 2022.
  5. ^ "British Animation Awards 2022 - Nominations for the BAAs 2022". 10 February 2022.
  6. ^ "British Animation Awards 2022 - Nominations for the BAAs 2022". 10 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Best Children's Programme".
  8. ^ https://broadcastawards.co.uk/shortlist-2021/?clearcache=1. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ "BAA 2020 Finalists Announced". 14 February 2020.
  10. ^ "BAA 2020 Finalists Announced". 14 February 2020.
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