The film 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets, starring Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley, has won four major industry awards at the 29th International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) award ceremony in London, 26th March 2010.
 

Judges commended the short film saying it was “in a league of its own” awarding it four prestigious awards:

► Gold Award for Best Education Film
► Gold Award for Best Photography
► Silver Award for Best Drama
► Silver Award for Best Original Music

The movie was sponsored by the Jameel Foundation and produced by the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (FSTC) and The Edge Picture Company as an introductory film for the 1001 Inventions exhibition that was launched at London’s Science Museum in January 2010. Described by critics as London’s most successful new exhibition, it received more than 100,000 visitors in its opening weeks. The exhibition is expected to stay in London until the end of June 2010 before starting a five year journey across the world.

Professor Salim Al-Hassani, Chairman of FSTC, commented: “I am truly delighted that our movie has been honoured by the British film industry for its excellence in education and its high production values. Our objective was to bring life to a period of history that is so often neglected but to do so in a fun and engaging way, challenging miss-conceptions and demonstrating mankind’s shared heritage. We were fortunate to get such an amazing cast of actors and work with The Edge Picture Company who made our vision a reality.”

Receiving the four IVCA awards for 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets (from left to right):
Alan Deakins (Film’s Director), Phil Blundell (Film’s Executive Co-Producer and Managing Director of The Edge Picture Company), Robert Hartshorne (Film’s Music Composer), Andrew Hardwick (Film’s Producer)

In the movie a group of young school children take a field trip to a dusty old library after their teacher challenges them to research the era known as the “Dark Ages” and find its relevance to present day civilisation, a chore they resent until they meet a mysterious librarian (Kingsley) who takes them on a journey to the past revealing a thousand years of scientific and cultural excellence that took place in the Muslim world between the 7th and 17th century.

The film was also released on the internet where it has proved a huge hit receiving over one million downloads in the first month of being aired.

► Click here to watch 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets
► Click here to learn more about the 1001 Inventions Exhibition
► Click here for the IVCA website: http://www.ivca.org