HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. and Canada television and streaming rights to Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for U.S.
Documentary at Sundance. The film directed and produced by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson examines the life and career of poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, who rose to fame in the 1960s through her writings and television appearances.
Today’s announcement will come as welcome news to a documentary community concerned about the relatively sluggish pace of acquisitions since at least the beginning of the year.
The fact that a Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner wasn’t snapped up right away bred a feeling of gloom that streamers and distributors were only interested in nonfiction content that focused on true crime or celebrities (Nikki Giovanni, though prominent, isn’t the sort of mega-celeb whose story would get an automatic green light for a doc, unlike Michael J.
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