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.
​​​