A.V. Rockwell (‘A Thousand And One’ writer-director) on creating a character who is ‘New York personified’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
This interview contains spoilers about the end of “A Thousand And One.”
“This story has been with me all my life,” shares writer-director A.V. Rockwell about her feature film debut “A Thousand And One.” The movie chronicles a mother-son relationship and unfolds over a decade as Inez (Teyana Taylor), upon her release from Rikers Island, reunites with her son Terry and they navigate a gentrifying New York City. Rockwell first started work on the screenplay in 2018 and wanted to explore how “communities of color and families of color experience the city” and “how hard it is to keep these family ties together and break generational cycles… when we’re in an environment that’s hostile, a city that’s hostile to our experience.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, “A Thousand And One” has received acclaim and accolades, including a win at the Gotham Awards for Breakthrough Director and now a nomination from the Directors Guild of America for First Time Narrative Feature Film. If those wins and nominations translate to a Best Director bid at the 96th Oscars, Rockwell would make history as the first Black woman to be nominated in the category. “It feels beautiful,” reflects the director on winning the Gotham Award, especially because she “didn’t expect to be seen” in that way. As she explains, “Women of color don’t always feel like our experiences are seen and acknowledged,” so she feels the award serves as “a testament to the way that this story has been very successful and connecting with people universally.”
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Lena Waithe, ‘A Thousand And One’ producer
At the heart of the film is Taylor’s bravura performance as Inez. Rockwell says that what drew her to the actress was her “authenticity” and her ability to “honor my city in the right way, represent us in the right way and in a way that is truthful… she was the right person to deliver this performance.” Through Inez, the screenwriter wanted to show that women “can be so nurturing and so loving,” but “you can’t love anybody fully and in the right way until you fully love yourself, and to not forget yourself in this journey.” She adds, “Inez is New York personified—her and all of her complications.”
Rockwell describes Inez as “a criminal with a heart of gold.” Though Inez has been incarcerated and even kidnaps her son out of the foster care system so that they can be together, the writer says that the character’s intentions are always pure. Inez is “looking out for other people, she’s so deeply caring, she’s brave, in many ways she’s fearless. I think she’s resilient,” observes the filmmaker. Most importantly, Inez “doesn’t even understand how damaged she is, but she’s consistent in her fight to heal those wounds that exist in her.”
SEE Spirit Awards nominations: Full list in all 23 movie and TV categories
After following Terry as he grows up — he is portrayed at three different ages by actors Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney and Josiah Cross — the film delivers a shocking twist as it reveals that Inez is not actually his biological mother at all. The end of the movie depicts the two characters parting ways as Inez hails a cab for an uncertain future. Rockwell describes the conclusion as optimistic because “Inez is free… She loves herself and that was the void she really needed to fill by the end of the story.” Though the audience doesn’t have any inkling as to what happens next for Inez, the director thinks “she has another adventure ahead of her.”
Rockwell uses the relationship between Inez and Terry as a lens through which to explore New York City at the turn of the twenty-first century. As the filmmaker describes, “I always saw this story in many ways as a historical document… I wanted to capture and illustrate the essence of New York as I experienced it and also as it really was.” She cites one moment as particularly meaningful to her: a low-angle shot of Inez walking through Brooklyn that captures the “iconic architecture we have that just continues to be knocked down and unappreciated.” The director says that sequence in particular is just “oozing with what I love” about New York.
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