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.

Streaming: GALLANT INDIES

Coming to OVID today, Wednesday, October 26:
GALLANT INDIES

Director:
Philippe Béziat

World Premiere:
Bordeaux 2020

Select Festivals:
Sheffield, Hot Docs, FIPADOC, Doclisboa, Transilvania, Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, Havana, Shanghai

About:
A young filmmaker works with an acclaimed choreographer to stage a baroque masterpiece at Opéra national de Paris, combining urban dance such as hip-hop, krump, break, and voguing with classical music to challenge the cultural expectations of this venerable, four-century-old institution.

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On TV & Streaming: A TREE OF LIFE: THE PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING

Coming to HBO and HBO Max today, Wednesday, October 26:
A TREE OF LIFE: THE PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING

Director:
Trish Adlesic

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2021

About:
Survivors of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue recount the harrowing experience and detail how their lives have fundamentally changed after the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.

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On DVD: BLUE ISLAND

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 25:
BLUE ISLAND

Director:
Chan Tze Woon

World Premiere:
Rotterdam 2022

Select Festivals:
New Directors/New Films, Hot Docs, Taiwan Doc

About:
A docufiction exploring Hong Kong’s protest movement and ensuing crackdown in the context of its history of rebellion.

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On VOD: A DECENT HOME

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25:
A DECENT HOME

Director:
Sara Terry

World Premiere:
Denver 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky Doc, Fargo, IFF Boston, RiverRun, United Nations Association, Heartland, Hot Springs Doc

About:
A look at the changing economy of mobile home parks being bought by private equity firms, closing out one of the last affordable housing options in America.

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On TV: TIKTOK, BOOM.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, Oct 24:
TIKTOK, BOOM.

Director:
Shalini Kantayya

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
SXSW, CPH:DOX, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Zurich

About:
With TikTok now crowned the world’s most downloaded app, these are the personal stories of a cultural phenomenon, told through an ensemble cast of Gen-Z natives, journalists, and experts alike. Why is an app, best known for people dancing, the target of so much controversy?

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

In Theatres & Streaming: DESCENDANT

Coming to theatres and to Netflix today, Friday, October 21:
DESCENDANT

Director:
Margaret Brown

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
New York, SXSW, CPH:DOX, Camden, IFF Boston, Sidewalk, Mill Valley,

About:
After a century shrouded in secrecy and speculation, descendants of the Clotilda – the last known ship carrying enslaved Africans to the United States – reclaim their story.

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

On TV: OUR AMERICAN FAMILY

Coming to SundanceTV this Sunday, October 23:
OUR AMERICAN FAMILY

Director:
Hallee Adelman, Sean King O’Grady

World Premiere:
Woodstock 2021

Select Festivals:
Philadelphia

About:
An honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse.

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In Theatres: THE COMPUTER ACCENT

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 21:
THE COMPUTER ACCENT

Director:
Riel Roch-Decter, Sebastian Pardo

World Premiere:
CPH:DOX 2022

Select Festivals:
Ambulante, Unherhört, Kaohsiung

About:
American post-pop group YACHT embarks on a radical creative experiment: inviting a computer into the recording studio.

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On VOD: THE PEZ OUTLAW

Coming to VOD today, Friday, October 21:
THE PEZ OUTLAW

Director:
Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel

World Premiere:
SXSW 2022

Select Festivals:
Cleveland, Freep, Calgary, Hot Springs Doc, Bergen, Seattle, IFF Boston

About:
Steve Glew spent the 1990s smuggling rare pez dispensers into the USA from Eastern Europe, making millions of dollars – until his arch-nemesis, The Pezident, decided to destroy him.

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In Theatres: BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 21:
BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER

Director:
Nina Menkes

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
Berlin, CPH:DOX, IDFA, Karlovy Vary, Thessaloniki Doc, BFI London, Jeonju, Istanbul, Beldocs, Docaviv, Frameline, Encounters, Bergen, Ambulante

About:
Based on Nina Menkes’ acclaimed talk “Sex & Power: The Visual Language of Cinema,” this is a mesmerizing journey into how shot design intersects with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse/assault and employment discrimination against women.

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