The University of Amsterdam awarded honorary doctorates the director – visual and historical, author and director Bianca Stigter. The British director and his Dutch wife were awarded the title of honorary doctorate for the great social and historical value of their work, especially their documentary “Octuped City”. The inauguration ceremony took place on January 16 during the celebration of the 393 year completion of the University. Steve McQueen is a director, screenwriter, and visual artist. Bianca Stigter is a historian, journalist, writer and director. CORVERSE McQueen has created various artworks using film and artistic facilities, many of which have been acquired by top museums around the world. In 2008 he wrote and directed his first feature film Hunger and in 2013 his film 12 Years A Slave, later winning three Oscars, was released, highlighted in the University’s announcement. Stigter, who studied History at the University of Amsterdam, writes among other publications about NRC Handelsblad. He was a producer of the film 12 Years a Slave and creator of the documentary Three Minutes, A Lengthening (2021), which aired at almost all major film festivals (Venice, Sundance, Toronto). In this film essay, Stigter examines a quote of a family film made in 1938 in a Jewish community in Poland and raises concerns about the Holocaust, time and what the film might mean. In 2005 her book “Occupied City: Map of Amsterdam 1940-1945” was published. Three collections of essays on art and history followed. In 2019 he published the book “Atlas of an Occupied City. Amsterdam 1940-1945” (Atlas of an Occupied City. Amsterdam 1940-1945). Based on this book, McQueen and Stigter created the 4.5-hour Occupied City documentary. The film recently won three awards at the Netherlands Film Festival in the categories Best Grand Length Documentary, Best Photography and Best Montage.
Steve McQueen and Bianca Stigter were awarded Honorary Doctors of the University in Amsterdam
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in Lifestyle