From the richly detailed pastoral masterpiece Anne of Green Gables, which established the company’s reputation in 1985, to the cutting-edge discoveries and intrigue of their latest documentaries Out of the Shadows and Mozart Decoded, Sullivan Entertainment has brought to the screen sweeping mini-series such as Love on the Land, filmed opera such as Magic Flute Diaries, intense period dramas and feature films: Under the Piano, Butterbox Babies and The Piano Man’s Daughter, as well as the epic long form series: Road to Avonlea and Wind at My Back.
The company’s passion for drama has been augmented with charming and whimsical animation and children series such as Super Rupert and Anne: The Animated Series. Sullivan Entertainment has provided audiences around the world with compelling and beautifully-crafted productions that have been classics in their own right.
Sullivan Entertainment films have been praised for their visual beauty, their strong storytelling, and the fine acting through which they weave their unique spell. This reputation has produced a devoted international following and high expectation level for Sullivan productions. The creative force behind Sullivan Entertainment’s commercial success is Kevin Sullivan – writer, director, producer and company co-founder. Sullivan’s stature as a producer has attracted international investors and stars to his productions, creating prestige and critical acclaim for the company. In U.S. film schools, Anne of Green Gables has even been studied as a model of TV drama with multi-generational, multi-cultural appeal.
Sullivan Entertainment International, the film distribution arm of the Sullivan group of companies, is a major exporter of Canadian productions around the world, with an inventory of over 600 half-hours of award-winning programming from all genres, including miniseries, feature films, family dramas, and children’s and comedy specials.
Founded by Trudy Grant in 1981, Sullivan Entertainment International emerged as a major player in the world television industry in the 90’s. The company’s penetration into major markets, its relations with principal US and foreign broadcasters as well as its ability to access many of the world’s less significant markets has been a key to its success with sales in more than 200 countries.
The company is presently involved in a vast restoration of the original film negatives to High Definition of all of its most popular classics. Viewers can now enjoy the full cinematic splendor that Kevin Sullivan originally intended for his ever-green series and movies, which have remained timeless classics for audiences everywhere.
Expanding on his adept handling of the Anne of Green Gables saga, Sullivan is currently producing an original musical production entitled Anne of Avonlea, adapted from his original screenplay: Anne of Green Gables – the Sequel.
In addition to filmed content, Sullivan Entertainment has entered the publishing sphere, with over a dozen original novels, books, interior- design and cookbooks; most recently creating a series of educational children’s books as companions to its popular PBS series Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series and producing over 40 online eBooks to its TV series: Road to Avonlea, Wind at My Back and the Anne films.
The company’s Toronto studios and backlot, at which most of Sullivan’s series and movies have been filmed, retains the largest standing set of its kind (originally created for the series Wind at My Back) ever mounted for Canadian television.
The company has rapidly expanded into the online world over the last decade, with its popular online store: www.shopatsullivan.com and a strong social media presence, with multiple Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, in order to interact with devoted fans around the world. As the media landscape changes, Shopatsullivan.com is poised to begin offering online digital streaming of their entire library of classic titles.
In addition to its large library Shopatsullivan.com also sells a diverse range of products around the world, including CDs, children’s toys, specialty books & novels, a large print & poster collection of artists and illustrators that have inspired Sullivan’s productions, home, garden and fashion products, as well as its latest endeavor for fans- Kazuri beads and jewelry. The sale of these beautiful originally designed tribal pieces, handcrafted by women artisans in rural Kenya, is one of a number of philanthropic efforts that Sullivan staff have undertaken to support third world enterprises.
Kazuri beads were spun out of a partnership between Sullivan staff, friends and Free The Children in the summer of 2010, which built the world’s first Anne of Green Gables school and library in the Masai Maara district of rural Kenya. The company is also proud of its support and close affiliation with Dignitas International which supports community-based AIDS research and relief in Malawi, Africa.
While Sullivan Entertainment holds true to its mission to enlighten a generation through exceptional storytelling, the company continues to evolve into other endeavors that enhance its distinctive brand. Building on the stunning visual style of Sullivan productions, Sullivan Entertainment is expanding into the world of fashion and art.
The company has launched an online arts, lifestyle and fashion portal and online store: Still the Lovely, (specializing in contemporary and vintage fashion and accessories). Sullivan will shortly officially open its own art gallery space, The Navillus Gallery, in Toronto in the Fall of 2011. The Navillus Gallery will exhibit a wide range of contemporary abstract pieces by American, European and Canadian artists.
Sullivan Entertainment has won numerous Emmy Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting, as well as many international awards, including The Prix Jeunesse, Cable Ace Awards and Gemini Awards, in their thirty-year history.
