HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. and Canada television and streaming rights to the critically acclaimed Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project directed and produced by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson. The Confluential Films and Rada Studio production premiered at Sundance 2023 where it won the Grand Jury Prize winner in US Documentary Competition. The deal was negotiated by Cinetic Media on behalf of the filmmakers.
Also produced by Tommy Oliver (HBO’s 40 Years A Prisoner; Juice WRLD; Into the Abyss), and executive produced by Taraji P. Henson and Codie Elaine Oliver, the film is further selected for the Spotlight section of the 61st New York Film Festival. The film will be available in theaters this fall ahead of its debut in 2024 on HBO and Max.
“Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project travels through time and space to reveal the enduring influence of Nikki Giovanni, one of America’s greatest living artists and social commentators. Giovanni reckons with the inevitable passing of time in intimate vérité and revealing archival footage. The film is a collision of memories, moments in American history, live readings, and visually innovative treatments of her poetry,” the film’s synopsis reads.
Comment directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson: “We are thrilled and deeply honored that HBO Documentary Films, a beacon of innovation, authenticity, and a leading force committed to the art of storytelling, has recognized the significance of our work. We believe that through this collaboration, Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project has found a home where it will shine and have a global reach.”
“Joe and Michèle have crafted a bold, glorious, boundary-pushing portrait of one of our GREATS and I couldn’t be more excited to partner (yet again) with Lisa, Nancy, and the rest of the wonderful HBO Docs team to bring Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project to the world,” said Tommy Oliver, Founder & CEO of Confluential Films.
Rada Studio
Co-founded by Guggenheim fellows and four-time Emmy nominated partners Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, Rada Studio “aesthetically pushes the boundaries of form to play within and outside the conventions of storytelling by tapping into the rich legacy of the Black radical tradition and drawing from the pillars that define Black Atlantic expression.” Rada Studio successes include Sundance Jury Prizes (American Promise; Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project), Canadian Screen Awards nominee (Stateless), Tribeca Grand Jury Prize for Best Immersive Narrative (The Changing Same), and four Emmy Award nominees (American Promise; The Changing Same).
Confluential Films
Founded by writer/director/producer Tommy Oliver, Confluential Films is a Black-owned production company and financier “devoted to telling commercially-viable stories at the intersection of art, entertainment, and cultural specificity.” The company presented four films at Sundance ‘23, including the fictions Fancy Dance; To Live and Die and Live and Young. Wild. Free., as well as Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. Past projects include the AFI Audience Award-winner Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss; the HBO documentary 40 Years A Prisoner (TIFF); six seasons of the ground-breaking docuseries Black Love; and award-winning indies 1982 (TIFF), Jinn (SXSW), and Sundance Audience-Award winner, Kinyarwanda, as well as The Perfect Find for Netflix.
