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.
September 20, 2022 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: THREE MINUTES — A LENGTHENING

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo: Family Affair Films

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, September 20:
THREE MINUTES — A LENGTHENING

Director:
Bianca Stigter

World Premiere:
Venice 2021

Select Festivals:
Sundance, Toronto, IDFA, DOC NYC, Philadelphia, Göteborg, Thessaloniki Doc, Provincetown, Sydney, Cleveland, Docs Against Gravity

About:
A home movie shot by David Kurtz in 1938 in a Jewish town in Poland – the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust – is examined to unravel the stories hidden in the celluloid.

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

September 19, 2022 · 3:02 PM

Streaming: THE SEER AND THE UNSEEN

Coming to OVID tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20:
THE SEER AND THE UNSEEN

Director:
Sara Dosa

World Premiere:
San Francisco 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, New Horizons, Reykjavík, Melbourne, Camden, RIDM, Leeds, Palm Springs, Available Light, Big Sky Doc, Seattle, Ashland, Thessaloniki Doc

About:
An eccentric Icelandic environmentalist is on a mission to protect the natural habitat of elves from development.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

September 19, 2022 · 1:31 PM

Streaming: BOVINES

Coming to OVID tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20:
BOVINES

Director:
Emmanuel Gras

World Premiere:
ACID Cannes 2011

Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Hamburg

About:
An entrancing observational study of cows’ lives.

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September 19, 2022 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: THE AUTOMAT

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20:
THE AUTOMAT

Director:
Lisa Hurwitz

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Philadelphia, Austin, Hamptons Doc, Miami Jewish

About:
The history of the titular vending machine, weaving together interviews with engineers, collectors, admirers, former employees, and an eclectic cast of its utmost enthusiasts.

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September 16, 2022 · 3:02 PM

On TV: THE US AND THE HOLOCAUST

Courtesy PBS

Coming to PBS beginning this Sunday, September 18:
THE US AND THE HOLOCAUST

Director:
Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein

World Premiere:
Telluride 2022 (episode 1)

About:
A three-part examination of America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century, when public indifference, bureaucratic red tape, and restrictive quota laws stood in the way of supporting those who sought to escape the Holocaust.

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September 16, 2022 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: STILL WORKING 9 TO 5

Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 16:
STILL WORKING 9 TO 5

Director:
Camille Hardman, Gary Lane

World Premiere:
SXSW 2022

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Nantucket, Nashville, Tallgrass

About:
An exploration of why workplace inequality is no laughing matter in the 40 years since the seminal comedy, 9 TO 5, was released in 1980.

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September 16, 2022 · 12:01 PM

Streaming: SKANDAL! BRINGING DOWN WIRECARD

Courtesy of Netflix

Coming to Netflix today, Friday, September 16:
SKANDAL! BRINGING DOWN WIRECARD

Director:
James Erskine

World Premiere:
Netflix (September 2022)

About:
Upstart payment firm Wirecard wowed the financial industry with its runaway success — until a tenacious team of journalists exposed massive fraud.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

September 16, 2022 · 11:30 AM

In Theatres: FOUR WINTERS

Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 16:
FOUR WINTERS

Director:
Julia Mintz

World Premiere:
New York Jewish Film Festival 2020

Select Festivals:
Jewish fests in Toronto, Washington DC, Palm Beach

About:
The story of Jewish partisans who fought against Nazis in Eastern Europe.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

September 15, 2022 · 3:02 PM

Streaming: MIJA

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Isabel Castro

Coming to Disney+ tomorrow, Friday, September 16:
MIJA

Director:
Isabel Castro

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
True/False, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Los Angeles Latino, Miami, Cleveland, RiverRun, Maryland, San Francisco

About:
When Doris, a young, ambitious music manager whose undocumented family depends on her ability to launch pop stars, loses her biggest client, she hustles to discover new talent and finds Jacks, another daughter of immigrants for whom “making it” isn’t just a dream: it’s a necessity.

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

September 15, 2022 · 2:12 PM

In Theatres & On VOD: RIOTSVILLE, USA

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, September 16:
RIOTSVILLE, USA

Director:
Sierra Pettengill

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
New Directors/New Films, True/False, CPH:DOX, Seattle, Freep, San Francisco, Traverse City

About:
Footage shot by the media and government of a fictional town built by the US military explores the militarization of the police and the reaction of a nation to the uprisings of the late 1960s, creating a counter-narrative to a critical moment in American history.

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