The documentary that seemed to win over crowds at Sundance and the New York Film Festival, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is all set to woo fans across the globe when it hits Max early in 2024 and we can’t help but keep our fingers crossed – now can we?
The Official Synopsis of the Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project:
‘Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project’ travels much faster than space – it travels through time to reveal the impact of Nikki Giovanni, America’s legend (at least one of Her greatest living poets and social commentators!).
Giovanni gets candid via intimate verite (or truth), as she talks about the inevitable passing of time through truth.
All in all, there is a major impact of Giovanni’s legendary work on American culture, and the audience can get a pretty large scoop of intimacy and candidness.
The film is written and directed by Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster, and we certainly recognize Taraji P. Henson’s voice somewhere in the background it would interest you to know that Henson plays executive producer along with Codie Elaine Oliver among other talented crewmen.
On an episode of ‘Masters of the Game’ Giovanni spoke about her Tennessee lifestyle, upbringing and civil rights work, and finally her move to NYC where she became extremely engrossed in the Black Arts Movement – not to mention, appearing on Donny Hathaway’s innovative talk show ‘Soul’.
As you have heard, Nikki Giovanni was already a prominent presence, but she was much more than just a presence. She became a cult favorite, an eminence in comparison with James Baldwin.
However, the film, aside from stealing the show and taking home the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, this masterpiece has also been recently nominated for three Cinema Eye Honors Awards including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and two International Documentary Association Awards – talk about impressive!
In a trailer of the film, Giovanni is seen saying that she doesn’t remember many things, but there are many things that she chooses not to remember – except the important ones. The rest, she makes up.
