About us.
Infrared Films is founded by Ian Bendelow and Erin Bottari. From the north of England, with a shared interest in compassionate storytelling, we focus on bringing complex subjects to wide audiences in engaging and unexpected ways.
We have produced high-profile films for major broadcasters and have earned industry-wide recognition for our work, with multiple Emmy, BAFTA, Grierson, British Journalism, Broadcast and Royal Television Society awards and nominations between us.
Ian Bendelow.
Ian is an Emmy and RTS award-winning and BAFTA-nominated senior producer and investigative journalist, who has worked on some of the most high-profile current affairs films in recent years. These films have resulted in major police investigations, court cases, criminal convictions, CQC reviews, NHS inquiries, and been debated in Parliament.
Specialising in undercover investigations, he has run a number of major covert operations, exposing abuse in mental health hospitals, drug abuse in prisons, and infiltrating the far-right. As a partner to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Ian worked on the Paradise Papers, which at the time, was the largest data leak in history.
Erin Bottari.
Erin is a three-time BAFTA nominated production executive, specialising in documentary film. With extensive experience of managing high-profile, complex productions around the world, she has overseen multiple feature-length documentaries and television series, ensuring that productions stay on schedule, within budget, and aligned with editorial goals.
Having worked with some of the UK’s top directors including Ken Loach and Shane Meadows, she has managed Emmy, Sundance, Grierson, British Journalism and Royal Television Society award-winning films, and has been a juror at the Grierson Awards. Erin advocates for better industry working conditions through her work on the Bectu UTVU committee.