{"id":21424,"date":"2024-01-10T23:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T04:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21424"},"modified":"2024-01-10T23:55:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T04:55:02","slug":"going-to-mars-the-nikki-giovanni-project-interview-with-directors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21424","title":{"rendered":"Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project\/ Interview with Directors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCHJXaNHan3UWwwUKozSB2BQ\">Check out more of our video interviews on our YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nikki Giovanni is not a typical subject, and so it makes sense that a film about her wouldn\u2019t be typical either. Joe Brewster and Mich\u00e8le Stephenson\u2019s <strong><em>Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project<\/em><\/strong> is officially on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature (read <a href=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/reviews\/going-to-mars-the-nikki-giovanni-project-doc-nyc-film-review-a-creative-look-at-an-incredible-mind\/\">our review<\/a>), and the process of making this film was expectedly interesting given the eccentric and unique nature of the accomplished poet and activist it seeks to explore.<\/p>\n<p>I had the chance to speak with Brewster and Stephenson about how they worked with Giovanni, respecting her boundaries and disagreeing about certain principles of hers along the way, and what they learned in the process. They also talked about another film they directed that they\u2019ve been Oscar-shortlisted for this year, the documentary short <strong><em>Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>You can watch the video above, and read below for an official summary and where to watch.<\/p>\n<p>Film summary:<\/p>\n<p>GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT travels through time and space to reveal the enduring influence of Nikki Giovanni, one of America\u2019s greatest living artists and social commentators. Giovanni reckons with the inevitable passing of time in intimate ve\u0301rite\u0301 and revealing archival footage. The film is a collision of memories, moments in American history, live readings, and visually innovative treatments of her poetry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/author\/abe-friedtanzer\/\">Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer\u2019s articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"kyb3NV1U9SA\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project | Official Trailer | HBO\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kyb3NV1U9SA?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong><em>Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project <\/em><\/strong>is streaming on Max and <strong><em>Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games<\/em><\/strong> is streaming on ESPN+.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Check out more of our video interviews on our YouTube channel. Nikki Giovanni is not a typical subject, and so it makes sense that a film about her wouldn\u2019t be typical either. Joe Brewster and Mich\u00e8le Stephenson\u2019s Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is officially on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature (read&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[6043,6044,19863,84,18980,13892,18982,18983,18981,6042],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project\/ Interview with Directors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Directors Joe Brewster and Mich\u00e8le Stephenson discuss their Oscar-shortlisted documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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He has been the editor of MoviesWithAbe.com and TVwithAbe.com since 2007, and has been predicting the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards since he was allowed to stay up late enough to watch them. 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