Author Archives: basiltsiokos

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About basiltsiokos

Basil Tsiokos is a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, focusing on nonfiction features. He was most recently with DOC NYC for nearly a decade, where he served as Director of Programming since 2014, and with the Nantucket Film Festival as its Film Program Director. Prior to those positions, Basil was the longtime Artistic and Executive Director of NewFest. He has been affiliated with Sundance since 2005 as a Programming Associate. Basil serves on the feature nominating committees for the International Documentary Association Awards and Cinema Eye Honors. He has written about documentaries daily since 2010 on what (not) to doc. Basil holds a Masters degree from New York University and two undergraduate degrees from Stanford University.
August 12, 2021 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: STOP

Coming to Ovid.tv tomorrow, Friday, August 13:
STOP

Director:
Spencer Wolff

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2014

About:
A young man takes on the NYPD’s policy of racial profiling.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

August 11, 2021 · 3:02 PM

On VOD: ELI: A DOG IN PRISON

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Thursday, August 12 and to Topic on Thursday, August 26:
ELI: A DOG IN PRISON

Director:
Jason B Kohl, Nora Mandray

World Premiere:
VOD release (August 2021)

About:
Three prisoners’ lives are transformed when they are tasked with training Eli, an unruly Labrador puppy, to become a guide dog for the blind.

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August 11, 2021 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: NOT GOING QUIETLY

Coming to theatres this Friday, August 13:
NOT GOING QUIETLY

Director:
Nicholas Bruckman

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Oxford, Cleveland, Annapolis, Provincetown, San Francisco Jewish

About:
When a young father chances to meet a powerful senator on an airplane, their exchange goes viral, sparking one of the most unlikely political movements in a generation.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

August 11, 2021 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING

Coming to Ovid.tv today, Wednesday, August 11:
THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING

Director:
Mila Turajlic

World Premiere:
Toronto 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Double Exposure, DocPoint, ZagrebDox, Thessaloniki Doc, Tempo Doc, One World, Göteborg, Vilnius, Hong Kong, Doc10, Cleveland, San Francisco, Vision du Reel, DOK.fest Munich, Docs Against Gravity, Seattle, Docaviv, Doc Edge, Sydney, Dokufest, Melbourne

About:
The filmmaker explores her remarkable mother and Serbia’s tumultuous political inheritance.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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August 10, 2021 · 3:02 PM

On DVD: BERGMAN: A YEAR IN A LIFE

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, August 10:
BERGMAN: A YEAR IN A LIFE

Director:
Jane Magnusson

World Premiere:
Cannes 2018

Notable Festivals:
San Sebastian, Sitges, BFI London

About:
A deep dive into Ingmar Bergman’s extraordinary career, centered on 1957, one of his most prolific and creatively fruitful years.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

August 10, 2021 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres & On VOD: HOMEROOM

Coming to theatres and to Hulu this Thursday, August 12:
HOMEROOM

Director:
Peter Nicks

World Premiere:
Sundance 2021

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, BlackStar, Hot Docs, True/False, Full Frame, San Francisco, IFF Boston, Ashland

About:
An intimate profile of an Oakland high school class in the tumultuous year of COVID and a widespread reckoning of racial injustice.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance

August 10, 2021 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: MISHA AND THE WOLVES

Coming to Netflix tomorrow, Wedesday, August 11:
MISHA AND THE WOLVES

Director:
Sam Hobkinson

World Premiere:
Sundance 2021

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Docaviv, Thessaloniki Doc, RiverRun

About:
The fascinating tale of a woman’s self-mythologizing Holocaust survival story.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance

August 9, 2021 · 3:02 PM

On DVD: WEED THE PEOPLE

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, August 10:
WEED THE PEOPLE

Director:
Abby Epstein

World Premiere:
SXSW 2018

Select Festivals:
Mill Valley, Nashville, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Heartland, Calgary Underground

About:
An exploration of the medical use – and the legal hurdles – of cannabis treatment of childhood cancer.

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August 9, 2021 · 2:12 PM

On VOD: EAST PUNK MEMORIES

Coming to Ovid.tv this Wednesday, August 11:
EAST PUNK MEMORIES

Director:
Lucile Chaufour

World Premiere:
Cinema du Reel 2012

Select Festivals:
Margaret Mead, Indielisboa

About:
The filmmakers revisits a group of Hungarian punks, 20 years after she first filmed them, to explore life before and after communism.

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August 9, 2021 · 1:31 PM

On VOD: MALICE AT THE PALACE

Coming to Netflix’s UNTOLD series tomorrow, Tuesday, August 10:
MALICE AT THE PALACE

Director:
Floyd Russ

World Premiere:
Netflix (August 2021)

About:
Key figures from an infamous 2004 incident between players and fans at an NBA game in Michigan discuss the fight, its fallout, and its lasting legacy.

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