Honorary doctorate for Raindance founder Elliot Grove
Elliot Grove, the founder of the Raindance Film Festival, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by Plymouth College of Art on July 16
Plymouth, which is part of the Open University, is giving the award in recognition of Grove’s contribution to education in independent film.
To celebrate the award, Raindance and the college will also collaborate in a series of events leading to the launch of a new degree course in independent film-making at the college in September next year.
Grove said: “I firmly believe that success in the moviemaking business is a simple matter of demystifying the process of breaking into the film industry and allowing individual talent to prosper – I can’t wait to work with the college and its students to develop the next generation of independent film-makers.”
He founded Raindance in 1992 to promote international and UK independent films.
As well as the yearly festival in October, Raindance runs year-round training courses for film-makers, whose alumni include Christopher Nolan, Julian Fellowes, and Guy Ritchie.
Grove also set up the British Independent Film Awards, the IPTV channel Raindance TV and the Independent Film Trust, which helps children with disabilities or disadvantaged backgrounds communicate through film-making.
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Readers' comments (4)
Sydney LEVINE | 9-Jul-2009 3:59 am
Elliot deserves this award and others. He patiently built up a little no name festival into something much greater than just the festival. He's an extraordinary person and I'm so glad for him.
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Pauline Kiernan | 14-Jul-2009 3:13 pm
Delighted to see that Elliot's huge contribution to independent filmaking is being honoured in this way.
Pauline Kiernan
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Anonymous | 15-Sep-2009 4:04 pm
Mr Grove' association with this unknown college is merely an effort to promote his courses. This college does not have a film department and is run by former students who have no knowledge of
the film industry. Having seen the degree show while passing through Plymouth, the quality of the 'films' was so poor that one wonders how this institution has been able to promote a filmmaking degree let alone lure these poor students into debt. In exchange for Mr Grove's 'expertise' as the staff do not appear to have any,they have nominated him for this honour.
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kevin pike | 3-Oct-2009 6:49 pm
'anonymous', is there a reason why you have remained anonymus?
i completly disagree with everything you have said. i am studying film there and we have the biggest resouces for film in the whole of the southwest, the staff do have knowledge of film, the course leader Dan Paolantino is the founder of the 2nd largest film festival in plymouth and is a filmmaker himself. you cannot judge a college on the films it makes if you have not studied there. graduates are always winning awards and most if not all have been very successful since leaving. the quality of the films do vary, that is because some people are only interested in scriptwriting, editing, effects, directing, so the quality will differ between these roles.
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