Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2024)

Samora Pinderhughes and Chris Pattishall have confirmed the release of their original score for Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project on June 7. The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it took home the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, was shortlisted for the Academy Awards, and is currently streaming on HBO Max. The 32-track score, nominated for the IDA Documentary Awards and Cinema Eye Honors, mirrors the innovative structure and broad emotional range of the film with a diverse set of music.

Directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, the film pushes the boundaries of biographical documentary film to reveal the enduring influence of one of America’s greatest living artists and social commentators, Nikki Giovanni. Combining parallel cinematic story editing with visually innovative treatments of her poetry, along with intimate vérité, rich archival footage, and Giovanni’s own captivating contemporary performances, Going to Mars recounts the story of the artist and her works of resistance through the tumultuous historical periods in which she lived—from the Civil Rights Movement, to the Black Arts Movement, to present-day Black Lives Matter.

Designed to complement the Afro-futurist nature of Giovanni’s poetry and the film itself, the score follows Giovanni’s journey as she reflects on time, memory, family, trauma, and healing. Sweeping vocal and saxophone melodies are followed by trembling drums, otherworldly synths and intimate pianos, all geared towards expressing the complex inner emotional worlds of Giovanni as she reflects on the past and moves through the present. The score also highlights Pinderhughes and Pattishall’s particular methods of fusing improvised samples with through-composed parts.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Going to Mars (1:43)
1.02 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Nikki Rosa (1:08)
1.03 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Home Garden (1:19)
1.04 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - With The People (0:56)
1.05 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Gus (0:50)
1.06 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Crying Is A Skill (0:49)
1.07 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Live On Mars (0:57)
1.08 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Seizures (2:15)
1.09 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Pullman Porters (2:35)
1.10 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Going To Mars II (1:52)
1.11 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Picketing (0:56)
1.12 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Fisk (1:03)
1.13 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - John Killens (1:38)
1.14 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Black Judgement (2:36)
1.15 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - April 4, 1968 (1:21)
1.16 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Adulthood (1:44)
1.17 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Thomas (1:15)
1.18 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Photoshoot (1:05)
1.19 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Reverend Cleage (1:14)
1.20 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Can You Kill (2:13)
1.21 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - With The People II (1:20)
1.22 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Militant Dreams (1:37)
1.23 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Apartheid (3:23)
1.24 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Poetry Is A Trestle (1:08)
1.25 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - The Price (1:36)
1.26 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Winter (0:53)
1.27 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Novella (0:49)
1.28 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Going to Mars III (1:56)
1.29 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - With The People III (1:01)
1.30 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Going to Mars IV (1:41)
1.31 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall - Kai's Theme (2:36)
1.32 - Samora Pinderhughes, Chris Pattishall, Elena Pinderhughes - Nikka Rosa Reprise (2:13)