Oliver Stone to receive Doctors of Letters degree from Warwick

Oliver Stone, an American political filmmaker, will be awarded an honorary Doctors of Letters degree from the University of Warwick this month.

The filmmaker is mostly recognised for Midnight Express in 1978 and Scarface in 1983.

The ceremony will give Mr. Stone an honorary Doctor of Letters degree, which will be followed by an event in partnership with the Warwick’s Department of History. Oliver Stone will take part in an exclusive In Conversation event on campus with staff and students that has been organised by Warwick’s film historian Dr Jennifer Smyth.

According to the University’s Ordinances, honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws (LLD), Doctor of Letters (DLitt) and Doctor of Science (DSc) are conferred upon persons of high intellectual or cultural distinction.

Alexander Buxton, the communications manager, told the Boar: “The university is awarding Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone with a DLitt in recognition of his cultural distinction and in honour of his distinguished career’.

He has written and directed over 20 full-length feature films and documentaries covering controversial topics around the globe. Mr. Stone condemns American capitalism and covers the Vietnam war – in which he has served-, analyses the political life of Fidel Castro as well as Israel-Palestine relations.

Mr. Stone is not afraid to shed the light on the dark sides of politics, especially in the United-States of America, as Dr. J.E Smyth, organiser of the event, states: ‘Throughout his career he’s asked tough questions about America and its legacies of greed, corruption, and imperialism.”

Mr. Stone is currently working on a new project called ‘Snowden’, which is will be released in Autumn 2016.