Keeping everyone abreast of the goings on for the Nikki Giovanni documentary, we bring to you our first Diary entry, as previously mentioned here and here.

Recently we’ve run into a little bit of trouble, although it looks like it has been resolved; thankfully rather quickly at that.   The hold-up was the loss of the editor we had previously met with for the project.  He was excited about taking on the project but sadly contract terms could not be agreed upon so we went our separate ways.  These things happen and both parties are moving on.  We’ve got a great guy taking the helm and hope for great things.  Now that we are back on track, we’re still aiming for Sundance . . . 6 weeks.

Check out the first trailer here.

Keeping with the hip hop theme of the day we ask for something from our visitors. We are on the lookout for hip hop artists and spoken word artists for the documentary. We’d love to have your submissions to really make the film come alive. If you have something or know someone who you may think is interested have them contact 213complex@gmail.com and we’ll get them the proper paper work and such.

Thank You.

For the Hip Hop heads out there or for those that think they are, here’s a bit of Nikki Giovanni’s take on the art form:

“I have such an admiration for the rappers. One, i like what they’re doing, but two, they’re such good business people. They have been able to do what my generation couldn’t do, they were able to hire each other. . . poets just don’t make that kind of money that you actually have the business. you have a business but it’s a very different level. You don’t have that money. Its been a pleasure to watch Puffy and them and Russell take poetry And taking it to Broadway. It’s the sound of young America, so to some degree i mothered in the rap revolution and I’m really proud of what they’ve done with it. We opened the door, people like me, I opened the door. it was a door everybody could come through, and I’m very proud of that.”

Check out the video clip for a bit of what Nikki Giovanni thinks about the late Tupac Shakur.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

At this moment, our goal for “Truth Is On Its Way” is to enter and participate in the Sundance Film Festival. Submissions are due by Sept. 11 and that is our goal. The trailer posted earlier was a rough submission due to some recently developing snags. We’ll have more for you in a coming Director’s Diary.

The trailer has been put together.

Enjoy. Comments welcome.

We plan to have a clip from the documentary up for your viewing in the near future.  Check back with us soon.

There are many different views on Nikki Giovanni, the poet, activist, and person. We want to know yours.

Do you like Nikki Giovanni? If so, why? If not, why not?

What are your favorite Nikki Giovanni works, whether it be her poetry, music, or commentary. Share.

Taking a cue from Fran my first recognition was at an early age, albeit there was a necessary reintroduction at this point in my life. It had to be about when I was 10 when my mother gave me a copy of Ego Tripping. At that point, as young boys do, I said thank you, looked over it, and set it to the side.

Moving to the present, I was given the opportunity to work with Fran and upon hearing the project I would work on I gave the “Damn i know the name and can’t place why” face. From there i was promptly reintroduced by Fran via Nikki’s opinion on our current President.

Comment with your first experience with Nikki G.

From the Producer Fran Harris:

“. . .and I hope no white person ever has cause to write about me ’cause they never understand Black love is Black wealth. And they’ll probably talk about my hard childhood and never understand that all the while, I was quite happy.” – Nikki Giovanni, from Nikki-Rosa

I was six years old when i heard those words piping out of my brother’s record player. I heard it no less than four times a week in my house growing up in Dallas, Texas. She was the first person I’d heard “rap” under music. “Nikki Rosa” was recited under a gospel track, which explains why it also got play in my house on Sunday mornings as well.

In 2000, my sister sent me a scratchy, self-recorded cassette dub of the album “Truth Is On Its Way”, Nikki’s first album with the New York Community Choir. A week later I searched the Internet and found several of her CDs from back in the day. I swiftly ordered them and when they arrived I was so moved by hearing these recordings again that I could hardly sit still. I couldn’t sleep. Something had awakened inside me.

Amazingly, I still knew every single word to every single track even though I hadn’t heard the album in over 20 years. Every single word.

I’d recently started my own production company and decided that in my directorial debut that I’d do something with “Nikki”. I didn’t know what it would be but I knew it would change lives. That’s the kind of impact Nikki Giovanni has on you.

Two weeks and 20 auditions later, I was ready to stage my production, “A Night With Nikki”, based on some of Nikki’s writing from the ’70s. Three black women and three white women would comprise my jewel ensemble cast.

For thre weekends straight we played to a packed coffeehouse of men and women of all ages, races and backgrounds. Three months later, Nikki would speak at my alma mater and the seed would be planted for this documentary.

In her campus speech she would say something that proved prophetic, “When Fran asked me for permission to reprise my work in stage form, I said yes, because I’ve found that it’s generally a good idea to say yes more than no.”

During the first week of September 2003, with my heart pounding like I’d run a marathon, I called Virginia Tech University and left a message on Nikki’s voice-mail, asking her if she’d be willing to work with me on a documentary about her life. Within hours she called back enthusiastically. “Hey Fran, this is Nikki Giovanni. Yeah, I’d love to hear your ideas for doing a documentary . . .”

And here we are . .