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.
August 2, 2022 · 1:31 PM

Special Screening & In Theatres: MIJA

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Isabel Castro

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Wednesday, August 3 and to theatres this Friday, August 5:
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

August 2, 2022 · 12:01 PM

Locarno 2022: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 75th Locarno Film Festival

Dates:
August 3-13

About:
Just under a third of the approximately 80 new feature presentations at this noted Swiss festival are nonfiction.

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

August 1, 2022 · 1:31 PM

On DVD & Streaming: FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK

Coming to DVD and streaming tomorrow, Tuesday, August 2:
FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK

Director:
Bobbi Jo Hart

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, DOXA, Inside Out, Frameline, Outfest, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Santa Barbara, Athena, Cleveland, In-Edit, Hawaii, Doc’n Roll, Woodstock, Florida

About:
Ferocious female rockers Fanny, who shattered glass ceilings in the ’70s, collecting fans like David Bowie before being buried in retro record bins, reunite fifty years later with a new record deal and a chance to rewrite history.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

August 1, 2022 · 12:01 PM

On TV: HE’S MY BROTHER

Coming to PBS’s POV today, Monday, August 1:
HE’S MY BROTHER

Director:
Cille Hannibal

World Premiere:
CPH:DOX 2021

Select Festivals:
DOK.Fest Munich, Thessaloniki Doc, Melbourne, Docs Against Gravity

About:
What does the world feel like with three senses?

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

July 29, 2022 · 1:31 PM

Special Screening: I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Saturday, July 30:
I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE

Director:
Reid Davenport

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
True/False, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Sydney

About:
Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his Oakland apartment, a disabled filmmaker launches into an unflinching meditation on freakdom, (in)visibility, and the pursuit of individual agency.

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

July 29, 2022 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres: BLUE ISLAND

Coming to theatres today, Friday, July 29:
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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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

July 28, 2022 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres & On VOD: MY TREE

Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, July 29:
MY TREE

Director:
Jason Sherman

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2021

About:
Forty years after receiving a tree for his bar mitzvah, planted in Israel in his name, the filmmaker searches it out, discovering many uncomfortable truths stemming from his gift.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

July 28, 2022 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: THE TORCH

New to DVD this week:
THE TORCH

Director:
Jim Farrell

World Premiere:
Chicago 2019

About:
Guitar icon Buddy Guy reflects on his legacy and passes along the blues lessons he himself received from legends Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf to a phenom of the next generation.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

July 27, 2022 · 1:31 PM

Streaming: THE MOST HATED MAN ON THE INTERNET

Coming to Netflix today, Wednesday, July 27:
THE MOST HATED MAN ON THE INTERNET

Director:
Rob Miller

World Premiere:
Netflix (July 2022)

About:
Determined to remove her daughter’s photos from a revenge porn website, a persistent mother launches an online crusade to shut down its cruel founder.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

July 27, 2022 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: ONE MAN DIES A MILLION TIMES

Coming to theatres this Friday, July 29:
ONE MAN DIES A MILLION TIMES

Director:
Jessica Oreck

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
Goteborg, Ashland, Sarasota, Montclair, Maryland, Woods Hole, Vancouver, Milwaukee, Kolkata, Cairo

About:
Part documentary, part legend, the true story of a Russian seed bank and the botanists who worked there throughout the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944), transposed to a sci-fi-inflected future.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases