Oscar-nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Color Purple) will voice poetry in the new HBO documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. Directed by Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, Henson will produce the film and serve as the narrator for poems made by American poet/activist Nikki Giovanni. 

“This project came to me for a reason,” Henson tells Deadline about the project. She adds, “The timing was right, and they had me at two words: Nikki Giovanni. I said, yes.”

The film explores Giovanni’s 2010 poem Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea (We’re Going to Mars), a commentary on learning from our pasts in order to construct our destiny whether it be on other planets; the poem urges NASA to ask Black Americans for guidance on arriving to Mars, after their ancestors endured the Middle Passage. The documentary will also explore Giovanni’s activism, her commentary on racism, and other works.

“When you take on Nikki’s poems – and because [the film] is about her, it needed to sound like her,” Henson continues, “It needed to feel like her. When she reads her words, it’s almost conversational. Because for her, it’s a matter of fact.”

A longtime fan of Giovanni’s works, Henson explored Black Studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and Howard University. “I found myself as a black woman in Howard University and Nikki Giovanni has a lot to do with that,” Henson commented about her time in college. Because of Giovanni’s impact on the actress, Henson admitted to feeling starstruck and “a little nervous [to meet her].” But between the two women was “an understanding of the sisterhood support.” She says, “And I think there was a sense of pride there from both of us.” 

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project earned the top prize at the Sundance Film Festival last year and Henson says she’s pulling for the documentary to earn an Oscar recognition when the nominations are revealed on Jan. 23. The film will stream on HBO on January 20.