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.

2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP

The legendary Ice-T brings his feature directorial debut to the 2012 Documentary Premieres section: With co-director Andy Baybutt, SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP delves into the influences and creative process of hip hop.

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On DVD/VOD: HELL AND BACK AGAIN

Coming to DVD and VOD next Tuesday, January 24: HELL AND BACK AGAIN

Danfung Dennis picked up two awards from his documentary feature debut about a soldier’s return from war, which premiered at Sundance last year. Its run on the festival circuit included stops at Full Frame, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Edinburgh, and Silverdocs, and it had a limited theatrical release last Summer. It made the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary.

I wrote about the film before Sundance here.

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2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: A FIERCE GREEN FIRE

Beginning the second half of the 2012 Documentary Premieres: Mark Kitchell’s expansive chronicle of environmental activism, A FIERCE GREEN FIRE

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2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: ETHEL

Marking the end of the first half of this year’s Documentary Premieres: Rory Kennedy’s portrait of her mother, ETHEL

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2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE D WORD: UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA

An often misunderstood learning disability is the focus of the next title screening in Documentary Premieres: James Redford’s THE D WORD: UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA

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Special Screening: INTO THE ABYSS

Coming to NYC’s MoMA as part of its series “The Contenders” this Thursday, January 19: INTO THE ABYSS

Werner Herzog brought his exploration of a Texan capital murder crime to Telluride and Toronto last year before continuing a festival circuit that included London and DOC NYC. It opened theatrically in the late Fall.

I wrote about the film out of Toronto here.

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Indiewire @ Hulu Docs: Inspired by MLK Jr

My latest Indiewire-curated selections for Hulu documentaries takes inspiration from Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr Day. The docs offer looks at King and his killer, as well as profiles of African and African-American activists and communities. View them all now for free!

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

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In the Works: THE JONESES

The members of an atypical Mississippi family each seek love despite odds seemingly being stacked against them.

Director and cinematographer Moby Longinotto originally began his project as a short documentary. After it screened at notable fests including Hot Docs and Sheffield, he teamed with producer Aviva Wishnow (BLANK CITY) to expand it to feature-length. Joining the pair as associate producer is Jordan Mattos, who served in the same role for the SXSW and Cinema Eye Honor award-winning BILLY THE KID. The film follows the three-member Jones family, who live together in a Mississippi trailer park: Matriarch Jheri Rae, elder son Brad, and junior son Trevor. Complicating things a bit, 70-year-old Jheri Rae started life as the male Jerry, and is the boys’ biological father; 40-year-old Brad suffered brain damage at birth and has been dependent on his parents his whole life; and 34-year old Trevor is a virgin, racked with insecurity. Their small town might not know what to make of them, but they’re not letting that stop their search for partners who can accept them as they are. Continue reading →

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2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: BONES BRIGADE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Next in Documentary Premieres: BONES BRIGADE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Stacy Peralta’s look back at his seminal 1980s skateboarding team.

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2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: ABOUT FACE

This doc-by-doc look at this year’s Sundance line-up shifts to the Documentary Premieres section: ABOUT FACE, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ look at the original supermodels and their thoughts on beauty and aging.

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