The Illuminated Film Co Ltd

Find out more about the cast and crew that have worked with The Illuminated Film Co Ltd. If you are interested in working with The Illuminated Film Co Ltd or similar companies, join The Mandy Network and get alerted of upcoming job opportunities.

The Illuminated Film Company was formed at the beginning of 1993 by Iain Harvey and produced its first animated series in the same year. Based on the Eric Carle books, THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR AND OTHER STORIES, the series was a great success, winning various festival prizes, an award in Germany for best childrenís video and has since been available in America on the Disney video label.

Illuminated followed this success with T.R.A.N.S.I.T, which was nominated for a British Academy Award and the Cartoon d'Or. It was a winner of both The Grand Prize at The World Animation Celebration in Los Angeles and the Best Film in its category, as well as winning the LA Film Critic's Award and the Audience Prize and Grand Prix in Espinho.

In 2001, Illuminated completed production on the animated feature film CHRISTMAS CAROL ñ THE MOVIE (director - Jimmy Murakami). Premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, it was released in 2001 through PathÈ in the UK, and distributed throughout the rest of the world by MGM, it features the voices of many renowned actors, including Nicolas Cage, Simon Callow, Kate Winslet and Michael Gambon.

The following year Illuminated produced a half-hour animation special entitled WAR GAME (director ñ Dave Unwin), a re-working of the childrenís picture book by Michael Foreman. This has won numerous awards including the Childrenís Choice Award at the British Animation Awards, Best Television Special at the Annecy International Animation Festival, the International Student Jury Award at the Banff International Television Festival, Best Production of the Year at the Cartoons on the Bay Festival in Italy and 1st prize at the Cinemagic Festival in Belfast. Illuminated is looking to develop a sequel to this film entitled WAR BOY.

Illuminated completed production on two series of LITTLE PRINCESS (65 x 11 minutes), a BAFTA nominated animation aimed at pre-school children and based on the highly successful picture books by Tony Ross. LITTLE PRINCESS includes the unparalleled voice talents of Jane Horrocks and Julian Clary and has currently been sold to over 150 international territories, including Japan and Korea. Illuminated has recently finished production on two 22 minute specials of LITTLE PRINCESS; HARVEST FESTIVAL! and A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, which features Brian Blessed as Great Uncle Walter.

There are several projects that Illuminated are currently focusing on. For television, Illuminated is developing BUDDY AND ELVIS, a pilot of which proved to be a resounding success at the recent Cartoon Forum and has attracted attention from broadcasters all round Europe. For film, Illuminated is in an advanced stage of development on NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, based on the award winning book by Geraldine McCaughrean. It is also involved in the development of two further animated feature films.

Iain Harvey is a UK representative and Vice-President of the European Association of Animated Film (Cartoon), an initiative under the Media programme. He also chaired the BAFTA Short Animation Jury from 2004 - 7.