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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