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Roger Deakins awarded Honorary Doctorate – Bath Spa University
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Oscar winning cinematographer Roger Deakins awarded Honorary Doctorate

Monday, 29 July, 2019

Oscar winning cinematographer, Roger Deakins CBE, was today awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Bath Spa University in recognition of his significant contribution to film and TV.

Deakins, who studied at Bath Academy of Art (now Bath Spa University), is best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve.

His feature films include The Big Lebowski, Skyfall, True Grit and Jarhead, and he also enjoys being a visual consultant on animated films including Wall•E, Rango, and How To Train Your Dragon.

Deakins' first film in America as cinematographer was Mountains of the Moon and he received his first major award from the American Society of Cinematographers for his outstanding achievement in cinematography for the internationally praised major motion picture The Shawshank Redemption.

He has also been awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from the British Society of Cinematographers and the National Board of Review, and is the only cinematographer to have been awarded the honour of CBE in 2013.

In 2018 Deakins won an Oscar for best cinematographer for his work in Blade Runner 2049.

Deakins was presented with his Honorary Doctorate by Bath Spa’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Susan Rigby on Friday (26 July). On Thursday (25 July) he took part in an exclusive Q&A session in front of an audience of Film and TV students studying at Bath Spa University where he talked about turning his passion for film and photography into a profession.

Born and raised in Devon, Deakins studied Graphic Design at the Bath Academy of Art (now Bath Spa University) before continuing on to the National Film School where he spent time shooting still photographs of North Devon with the intent of capturing the disappearing rural farm life.

After graduating from the National Film School, he shot a number of documentaries and then moved into feature films.

Upcoming films Deakins has been working on include '1917' with Sam Mendes which will be released at Christmas, and 'The Goldfinch' out in September.

Speaking on his award, Deakins said: “I am incredibly honoured to have been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Bath Spa University. Meeting students and seeing their commitment to pursuing their passions is inspiring, reminding me of where it all began for me. To be a part of Bath Spa University's creative and innovative community is a great privilege.”

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