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.

On TV: SCATTERING CJ

Coming to The WORLD Channel tomorrow, Friday, September 16:
SCATTERING CJ

Director:
Andrea Kalin

World Premiere:
Camden 2019

Select Festivals:
Rocky Mountain Women’s, Annapolis, Salem, ReelAbilities, DocUtah,

About:
A look at how a mother’s attempts to deal with the suicide of her son became a viral phenomenon.

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Streaming: SEARCHING EVA

Coming to OVID tomorrow, Friday, September 16:
SEARCHING EVA

Director:
Pia Hellenthal

World Premiere:
Berlin 2019

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, IDFA, Hot Docs, Jeonju, Docs Against Gravity, Biografilm, AFI Fest,

About:
A portrait of a sex worker, model, and writer who explores sexual autonomy online.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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In Theatres: MOONAGE DAYDREAM

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, September 16:
MOONAGE DAYDREAM

Director:
Brett Morgen

World Premiere:
Cannes 2022

Select Festivals:
Toronto, Karlovy Vary, Deauville, Jerusalem

About:
An artful and life-affirming journey through David Bowie’s creative life, grappling with spirituality, transience, isolation, creativity, and time to reveal the celebrated icon in his own voice.

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Streaming: WE INTEND TO CAUSE HAVOC

Coming to OVID tomorrow, Thursday, September 15:
WE INTEND TO CAUSE HAVOC

Director:
Gio Arlotta

World Premiere:
Indielisboa 2019

Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, Warsaw, Doc’n Roll, One World

About:
An exploration of the history of Zambia’s most popular rock band in the 1970s, WITCH, and the fate of its vocalist, Jagari.

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Streaming: SEX AND BROADCASTING: A FILM ABOUT WFMU

sex

Coming to Ovid tomorrow, Thursday, September 15:
SEX AND BROADCASTING: A FILM ABOUT WFMU

Director:
Tim K Smith

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2014

Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, Salem, Montclair

About:
A portrait of a maverick radio station.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
New Jersey’s WFMU has occupied a unique position as an independent, commercial-free, listener-supported radio station since its inception in the late 1950s. At its heart is the dedicated station manager Ken Freedman, committed to an unstructured, free-form broadcasting model which has won WFMU acclaim as the best – and perhaps weirdest – radio station in the tristate area, if not the country. Facing a budget crisis, can Ken rally both his volunteer staff and his listeners to keep the station afloat?

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On DVD: BLOOM UP: A SWINGER COUPLE STORY

New to DVD this week:
BLOOM UP: A SWINGER COUPLE STORY

Director:
Mauro Russo Rouge

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2021

Select Festivals:
Biografilm, Mallorca

About:
An average middle-aged Italian couple by day, Hermes and Betta live out their unbridled sexual fantasies as swingers by night.

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In Theatres: TERRA FEMME

Coming to NYC’s Anthology Film Archives tomorrow, Thursday, September 15:
TERRA FEMME

Director:
Courtney Stephens

World Premiere:
MoMA Doc Fortnight 2021

Select Festivals:
IDFA, Hot Docs, RIDM, DokuFest, Camden, Open City Docs, Sydney Underground, Indielisboa, Docaviv

About:
Archival material and home movies from the 1920s to the 1940s reveal the emancipatory power women found in newly available personal cameras, and the association this self-expression had with gender roles, the rise of a leisured, white middle class, and imperialism. 

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Streaming: HELL OF A CRUISE

Coming to Peacock today, Wednesday, September 14:
HELL OF A CRUISE

Director:
Nick Quested

World Premiere:
Peacock (September 2022)

About:
An exploration of the spread of COVID aboard a luxury Diamond Princess cruise ship in January 2020, and why, one week later, cruise ships were still sent out to sea.

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Camden 2022 Overview

Festival:
The 18th Camden International Film Festival

Dates:
September 15-25

About:
This respected Maine nonfiction event showcases just over 30 recent documentaries both in person and online.

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On VOD: UNSEEN SKIES

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, September 13:
UNSEEN SKIES

Director:
Yaara Bou Melhem

World Premiere:
San Francisco 2021

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Sydney, Docs Against Gravity

About:
American artist Trevor Paglen, who uses the most advanced technology to map surveillance, data flows, and the state’s monitoring of our lives, is about to launch the most ambitious project of his career.

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