British film director to receive honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam

British film director and visual artist Steve McQueen and his partner, the Dutch historian and filmmaker Bianca Stigter, will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam (UvA). According to the university, they are given the honorary title for their work's social and historical value. This applies particularly to their documentary Occupied City.

Occupied City is based on Stigter's book Atlas of an Occupied City. The film, which lasts over four hours, reflects on the places in Amsterdam where the German occupiers left their mark during the Second World War.

Stigter and McQueen live in the capital city. The film won three Golden Calves awards at the Netherlands Film Festival for Best Long Documentary, Best Photography, and Best Editing.

McQueen is also well known for his 2013 film 12 Years a Slave. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three of them, including Best Picture. McQueen is the first person of color to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2016, he received the Johannes Vermeer Prize, the Dutch state prize for the arts.

Researcher Liesbeth Geris will also receive an honorary doctorate. She is receiving this for her work in the field of in-silico medicine. This involves using computer simulations to diagnose a disease and calculate the treatment. Geris works with so-called virtual twins, which are when digital copies are made of a human body.

"Liesbet Geris, Steve McQueen, and Bianca Stigter are each in their own way an inspiration to many. What they have in common is that the social impact of their work is exceptionally large," said UvA rector magnificus Peter-Paul Verbeek.

McQueen, Stigter, and Geris will receive their honorary doctorates on January 16, 2025. This happens during the so-called dies natalis, the day the university celebrates its foundation.