ITO Shiori

Ito Shiori is a journalist, author, and filmmaker based in Japan and internationally. She has covered issues of gender, justice, and human rights through both writing and visual storytelling. Her book Black Box (2021), which documents her own experience as a survivor of sexual violence and Japan’s legal system, became part of the country’s #MeToo movement and was awarded the Free Press Association of Japan’s Best Journalism Award. In 2020, she was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. Before making her feature debut, Ito worked extensively as a camera operator and director on short investigative documentaries for international media. Her first feature documentary, Black Box Diaries (2024), premiered at Sundance International Film Festival in 2024 and has screened in more than 50 countries, earning nominations from the Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards, and won the Peabody Award. She continues to explore the power of the camera as a tool for truth and connection.

KIM Mire

Kim Mire is an independent documentary filmmaker known for illuminating lives marginalized or obscured by systems of capital and power, leading to introspection and social change, such as We Are Workers or Not? (2003), NoGaDa (2005), Stayed Out Overnight (2009), and Sanda (2013). Numerous documentaries were co-screened at domestic and international film festivals, making a global impact: We Are Workers or Not? won top honors at the Fribourg International Film Festival, while Stayed Out Overnight was officially selected for both the Busan International Film Festival and the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Sanda received the Best Korean Documentary Award at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival. In East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front (2019), Kim delved into the roots of political violence and historical rediscovery, garnering critical acclaim for its cinematic rigor and depth. The film was honored with both the Wildflower Film Award and the Korean Association of Film Critics Award.

Basil TSIOKOS

Basil Tsiokos is a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, with a specialization in nonfiction features. He was previously the longtime Director of Programming for DOC NYC and the Nantucket Film Festival, and before that served as the Artistic and Executive Director of NewFest: The New York LGBT Film Festival. He has regularly served on the feature nominations committees for the Cinema Eye Honors and the International Documentary Association's IDA Awards, as well as on the advisory board for the SXSW Film Festival. He was formerly a regular contributor to IndieWire, and since 2010 has written extensively about documentaries on his blog what (not) to doc.