Nikki Giovanni was one of the most prominent poet-activists to come out of the late-60s Black Arts Movement, and, as this film explores, is one of the Godmothers of Afrofuturism and the Afropunk alternative arts scene. But "Going to Mars" is far from your standard issue profile documentary, instead husband-wife co-directors Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster use Giovanni's life and writing as a jumping off point for their own formal exploration as they "delved into the soul of a poet." 
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'Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project' Directors Joe Brewster & Michèle Stephenson

Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. From screenwriting to film language to cinematography, we'll be examining the innovative ways today's best filmmakers are getting their visions out into the world.

TV & Film

The show-runner and director for the fourth season of this classic series joins us to explore how she brought the central True Detective themes and mysteries to a brand new landscape; the dark and frozen tundra of Alaska's months long winter.
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'True Detective: Night Country' Director Issa López

After this and "We're All Going to the World's Fair" Schoenbrun has emerged as one of our most fully formed new indie filmmakers, using a mastery of genre and form to expose audiences to complex and fascinating ideas. They spoke with us about making their much anticipated new movie, as well as reflected on their journey to directing. 
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'I Saw The TV Glow' Director Jane Schoenbrun

The director of the funniest movies in a long time joins the Toolkit today to discuss her bold new work of auto-fiction. Arnow explains how she arranged this series of small vignettes to create something grander that speaks to a greater truth.
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'The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed' Director Joanna Arnow

David has been a stunt performer, one of the top stunt co-ordinators in the business, and now is one of the biggest action directors of the last decade with films like of "Atomic Blonde" and "Bullet Train." He joins Toolkit to break down making his newest film as a love letter to stunts and the way Hollywood used to make action flicks. And we get into his biggest stunt of all: pulling off a rom-com in the middle of a huge action movie.
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'The Fall Guy' Director David Leitch

Veteran producer Alex Baskin takes us behind the scenes of one of the best non-scripted shows on television. Hear how they balance reality with emotional storytelling, and how they prevented last season's 'Scandoval' from breaking the show.
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'Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project' Directors Joe Brewster & Michèle Stephenson

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