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 BEATLES: GET BACK

Coming to Disney+ beginning tomorrow, Thursday, November 25:
THE BEATLES: GET BACK

Director:
Peter Jackson

World Premiere:
Disney+ (November 2021)

About:
This three-part docuseries covers the making of the Beatles’ 1970 album LET IT BE, drawing from never-released footage shot in-studio for the album’s accompanying documentary feature.

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Streaming: BECOMING COUSTEAU

Coming to Disney+ today, Wednesday, November 24:
BECOMING COUSTEAU

Director:
Liz Garbus

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Toronto, Hamptons, Camden, BFI London, Mill Valley, Rome

About:
A portrait of the visionary explorer, activist and TV host.

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On DVD: DEEP BLUES (1991)

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 23:
DEEP BLUES (1991)

Director:
Robert Mugge

Select Festivals:
Sundance

About:
A journey deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta, exploring the rich musical history and vibrant contemporary performers of the region.

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On VOD: THE VILLAGE DETECTIVE: A SONG CYCLE

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, November 23:
THE VILLAGE DETECTIVE: A SONG CYCLE

Director:
Bill Morrison

World Premiere:
Moscow 2021

Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, Telluride, Melbourne, New Horizonz

About:
A Soviet film from 1969 is found in an Icelandic fisherman’s net, and the filmography of its leading actor offers a portal into a history that has endured on celluloid.

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On DVD: CITIZEN HEARST

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 23:
CITIZEN HEARST

Director:
Amanda Pollak, Stephen Ives

World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (September 2021)

About:
An exploration of the life and career of the influential media mogul who inspired Orson Welles and Herman J Mankiewicz’s CITIZEN KANE.

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On TV: JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Coming to Showtime tonight, Monday, November 22:
JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Director:
Oliver Stone

World Premiere:
Cannes 2021

About:
Thirty years after his film JFK, the filmmaker examines recently declassified evidence in the assassination of President Kennedy.

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On VOD: CLERK

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 23:
CLERK

Director:
Malcolm Ingram

World Premiere:
SXSW 2021

Select Festivals:
Philadelphia

About:
The life and career of filmmaker Kevin Smith.

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On TV: DUTY FREE

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens today, Monday, November 22:
DUTY FREE

Director:
Sian-Pierre Regis

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

Select Festivals:
Big Sky, Miami, ACT Human Rights

About:
As his recently laid off mother struggles to find a new job at the age of 75, the filmmaker celebrates her lifetime of self-sacrifice.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On TV: THE HUNT FOR PLANET B

Coming to CNN tomorrow, Saturday, November 20:
THE HUNT FOR PLANET B

Director:
Nathaniel Kahn

World Premiere:
SXSW 2021

About:
A behind-the-scenes look at NASA’s high-stakes James Webb Space Telescope, following a pioneering group of scientists—many of them women—on their quest to find another Earth among the stars.

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In Theatres: THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 19:
THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN

Director:
James Spinney, Peter Middleton

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
BFI London, Camden, Zurich, Hamptons, AFI Fest

About:
The definitive story of cinema’s most iconic figure, from an impoverished childhood in London through a spectacular rise to fame, and onto the Hollywood limelight and a self-imposed exile. 

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