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.

2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE MOLE AGENT

THE MOLE AGENT | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Alvaro Reyes

THE MOLE AGENT
Maite Alberdi follows an 83-year-old undercover spy in a Chilean retirement home.

Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition

Country:
Chile/USA/Germany/Netherlands/Spain
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2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: INTO THE DEEP

INTO THE DEEP | Courtesy of Sundance Institute

INTO THE DEEP
Emma Sullivan presents a chilling, up-close profile of a notorious murder case in Denmark.

Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition

Country:
Denmark
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On VOD: RED DOG

New to VOD this week:
RED DOG

Directors:
Luke Dick and Casey Pinkston

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Lone Star, deadCENTER, Nashville, San Antonio

About:
A musician explores the history of the infamous Oklahoma City strip club in which he grew up.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Once upon a time, in downtown Oklahoma City, a seedy strip club called the Red Dog Saloon was an emblem of the 1970s oil boom. It also served as the childhood home of award-winning musician Luke Dick and his infamous go-go dancing mother Kim. Combining funky animation, archival footage, and interviews with Red Dog regulars, this quirky, high-spirited film reconstructs the culture and times of the strip club, as well as the circumstances that led to Kim and Luke’s unorthodox life there.

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2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: INFLUENCE

INFLUENCE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mark Bugyra

INFLUENCE
Diana Neille and Richard Poplak detail the rise and fall of disgraced PR/reputation management firm Bell Pottinger.

Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition

Country:
South Africa/Canada
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2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: EPICENTRO

EPICENTRO | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Hubert Sauper

EPICENTRO
Hubert Sauper offers a meditation on postcolonial Cuba.

Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition

Country:
Austria/France/USA
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2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE

THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute

THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE
Iryna Tsilyk observes a Ukrainian family as they process life in a war zone by making films about their experience.

Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition

Country:
Ukraine/Lithuania
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On DVD: ROTHKO: PICTURES MUST BE MIRACULOUS

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, January 7:
ROTHKO: PICTURES MUST BE MIRACULOUS

Director:
Eric Slade

World Premiere:
American Masters (October 2019)

About:
A biography of the influential abstract expressionist artist.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: ACASA, MY HOME

ACASA, MY HOME | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mircea Topoleanu

ACASA, MY HOME
Radu Ciorniciuc follows a Romanian family forced to leave their self-sufficient life off the grid for the city.

Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition

Country:
Romania/Germany/Finland
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2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: WHIRLYBIRD

WHIRLYBIRD | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Los Angeles News Service

WHIRLYBIRD
Matt Yoka tells the story of a marriage’s fraying against the backdrop of cutthroat news reporting in 1990s Los Angeles.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2020 Cinema Eye Honors Winners

The 13th annual Cinema Eye Honors, recognizing achievements in non-fiction film from 2019, were celebrated at the Museum of the Moving Image at a ceremony last evening.

Below is the full list of winners announced at last night’s ceremony, which was hosted for the first year by documentarian Yance Ford (STRONG ISLAND). I once again served on the Nominations Committee for features. Congratulations to all the winners, nominees, and the hard-working Cinema Eye organizers.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
AMERICAN FACTORY
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Produced by Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert, and Julie Parker Benello

Audience Choice Prize
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
Directed by John Chester

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert for AMERICAN FACTORY

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Todd Douglas Miller for APOLLO 11

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Waad Al-Kateab for FOR SAMA & Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær for THE CAVE (tie)

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma for HONEYLAND

Outstanding Achievement in an Original Music Score
Matt Morton for APOLLO 11

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
Patrick Cederberg, Matthew Hornick, and Ash Thorp for THE GREAT HACK

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER
Directed by Beniamino Barrese

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film Made for Broadcast
LEAVING NEVERLAND
Directed by Dan Reed, HBO

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Series Made for Broadcast
TRICKY DICK
Directed by Mary Robertson, CNN

Outstanding Achievement in Editing in a Nonfiction Film or Series for Broadcast
David Tillman for APOLLO: MISSIONS TO THE MOON, NatGeo

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Nonfiction Film or Series for Broadcast
Mark Ritchie, Julian Klincewicz, Dikayl Rimmasch, and Irie Calkins for HOMECOMING, Netflix

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
GHOSTS OF SUGARLAND
Directed by Bassam Tariq

Spotlight Award
PRESENT.PERFECT.
Directed by Shengze Zhu

Heterodox Award
THE SOUVENIR
Directed by Joanna Hogg

Legacy Award
KOYAANISQATSI
Directed by Godfrey Reggio

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