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: THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS

Courtesy of Netflix

Coming to Netflix today, Thursday, September 8:
THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS

Director:
Dan Krauss

World Premiere:
Netflix (September 2022)

About:
Days after 9/11, letters containing fatal anthrax spores spark panic and tragedy in the US, and an FBI investigation.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

On VOD: WE ARE AS GODS

New to VOD this week:
WE ARE AS GODS

Director:
Jason Sussberg, David Alvarado

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, SXSW 2021, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Poland’s American Festival

About:
Stewart Brand, legendary pioneer of LSD, cyberspace, futurism, and modern environmentalism, now urges people to use our god-like powers to fight extinction by reviving lost species.

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Streaming: THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF SUNSET

Coming to OVID today, Wednesday, September 7:
THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF SUNSET

Director:
Salomé Jashi

World Premiere:
Visions du Reel 2016

Select Festivals:
ZagrebDox, Thessaloniki Doc, Art of the Real, DOK Leipzig, Jihlava, Sarajevo, DOXA

About:
An ultra-low-budget news team in Georgia covers everything—elections, obituaries, a rare owl, or a fashion show for teenage girls—giving an honest view of the events that shape their environment and in the process revealing a country that has begun a still chaotic transition.

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Streaming: PLEASE HOLD THE LINE

Coming to OVID today, Wednesday, September 7:
PLEASE HOLD THE LINE

Director:
Pavel Cuzuioc

World Premiere:
Sheffield 2020

Select Festivals:
IDFA, Thessaloniki Doc, Guangzhou, Transilvania, One World, BelDocs, Diagonale

About:
A beautifully filmed allegory about communication and connection, told from the perspective of telecom engineers and their customers. 

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Toronto 2022: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 47th Toronto International Film Festival

Dates:
September 8-18

About:
This world-class Fall cinema event returns closer to its pre-pandemic numbers, offering 30 feature docs or hybrids among its approximately 200 presentations.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations

On DVD: FREDDIE MERCURY: THE FINAL ACT

Courtesy BBC

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 6:
FREDDIE MERCURY: THE FINAL ACT

Director:
James Rogan

World Premiere:
BBC broadcast (November 2021)

About:
Set against a backdrop of relationship highs, personal lows, and the Queen catalogue, the extraordinary final chapter of Freddie Mercury’s life.

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On VOD: OUR AMERICAN FAMILY

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, September 6:
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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Streaming: THE RACE OF THE CENTURY

Courtesy of Netflix

Coming to Netflix’s UNTOLD series tomorrow, Tuesday, September 6:
THE RACE OF THE CENTURY

Director:
Chapman Way, Maclain Way

World Premiere:
Netflix (September 2022)

About:
The Australia II yacht crew looks back on the motivation, dedication, and innovation that led to their historic victory at the 1983 America’s Cup.

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On TV: NO ORDINARY LIFE

Coming to CNN tonight, Monday, September 5:
NO ORDINARY LIFE

Director:
Heather O’Neill

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2021

Select Festivals:
Hamptons DocFest

About:
A spotlight on the esteemed careers of five courageous camera women who thrust themselves into dangerous circumstances—wars, calamities, and uprisings—to bear witness and give a platform to the most vulnerable.

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On TV: LOVE & STUFF

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, September 5:
LOVE & STUFF

Director:
Judith Helfand

Co-Director:
David Cohen

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New York Jewish, Docudays UA

About:
Faced with the loss of her beloved mother and becoming a first-time mom herself, the filmmaker has a lot of stuff to deal with.

The film screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In less than a year, filmmaker Judith Helfand goes through two major life moments: losing her beloved mother, Florence, and becoming a mom herself. As Judith prepares to welcome her adopted daughter, Theo, into her life, she must deal with literal and figurative “stuff:” endless boxes of her parents’ belongings, the promise she made to Florence to lose weight, reckoning with first-time motherhood at the age of 50, and moving on without her mother to help guide her.

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