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.

2013 DOC NYC in Focus: Art + Design

Grey-City-Key-Image-280x140New to DOC NYC this year, Art + Design celebrates creative expression across multiple disciplines, from photography to sculpture, graffiti to tailoring. Continue reading →

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In Theatres: THESE BIRDS WALK

these birds walkComing to NYC’s Village East Cinemas today, Friday, November 1: THESE BIRDS WALK

Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq’s look at the lives of Pakistani street children made its debut at True/False earlier this year. It went on to screen at SXSW, Dallas, BAMcinemaFest, Nashville, Hot Docs, Seattle, and Melbourne, among others.

I included the film in my True/False coverage here.

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On DVD: THE GREEN WAVE

Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, November 5: THE GREEN WAVE

Ali Samadi Ahadi’s meditation on Iran’s 2009 Green Revolution debuted at Hamburg in 2010. It went on to screen at IDFA, Sundance, San Francisco, Planete Doc Review, Human Rights Watch, Edinburgh, Jerusalem, and Vancouver, among others, and to enjoy a limited theatrical release.

My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.

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On Cable: OPEN SECRET

open_secret_1.350x196Coming to Al Jazeera America Presents this Sunday, November 3: OPEN SECRET

Steve Lickteig’s chronicle of the search for his birth mother debuted at Hot Docs in 2011. Its fest circuit also included Thessaloniki Doc, Indie Grits, and Kansas.

I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.

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2013 DOC NYC in Focus: International Perspectives

The-Abominable-Crime-Key-Image1-280x140DOC NYC‘s next section, International Perspectives, gives audiences the opportunity to take a virtual trip around the world, from Jamaica to China, Senegal to Israel. Continue reading →

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Toronto 2013: Docs in Brief, Part Three

manakamanaWrapping up my overdue coverage on September’s Toronto International Film Festival nonfiction programming, this post looks at the docs I was able to see from the fest’s Wavelengths, Mavericks, and Contemporary World Cinema sections. Continue reading →

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In Theatres: SWEET DREAMS

sweet dreamsComing to theatres today, Friday, November 1: SWEET DREAMS

Rob and Lisa Fruchtman’s inspirational story of a troupe of Rwandan drummers-turned-entrepreneurs had its world premiere last year at Silverdocs. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Mill Valley, IDFA, Margaret Mead, DocPoint, Big Sky, Thessaloniki Doc, Ashland, and DOXA, among others.

I previously included the film in my Thessaloniki Doc coverage here.

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In Theatres: MUSICWOOD

Musicwood-Key-Image-Photo-by-Scott-Hursey-e1349955624262Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 1: MUSICWOOD

Maxine Trump’s look at the impact of deforestation on the acoustic guitar made its debut at DOC NYC last year. It went on to screen at Big Sky, Cleveland, Sarasota, Yale’s Environmental fest, Nashville, DOXA, and Bonnaroo, among several other fests.

I previously wrote about the film out of DOC NYC here.

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2013 DOC NYC in Focus: American Perspectives

American-Commune-Key-Photo-by-David-Frohman-280x140The next programming section in my overview of the upcoming 4th edition of DOC NYC is American Perspectives, our panorama of stories from around the country. Continue reading →

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Indiewire @ Hulu Docs: Trick or Treat Edition

Halloween has inspired my latest curated selections for Hulu’s Documentaries page, with a series of films exposing trickery and deceit, from corporate corruption to documentary filmmaking itself. Watch these docs now for free!

For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.

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