Name: A.V. Rockwell
Notable past credits: Rockwell has directed short films and commercials, including a Super Bowl ad starring Serena Williams. She also directed “The Gospel,” a short for Alicia Keys that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Sundance project: “A Thousand and One,” Rockwell’s debut feature film starring Teyana Taylor. Rockwell has received fellowships from “Chanel: Through Her Lens,” the Sundance Institute, and Guggenheim Foundation.
The significance of premiering her first feature film at Sundance: “The [Sundance] labs were so supportive and believed in my vision, but the programmers and everyone at the festival have done the same thing,” says Rockwell. “And it’s still a very big deal. I feel very fortunate that I’ve had the producing and studio support in getting this film out to the world.
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“It started with being a native New Yorker, and going through my own experience of mourning the city as it was changing,” says Rockwell of her inspiration for writing “A Thousand and One,” an intimate drama set in Harlem during the mid-’90s to mid-2000s. The film — both nostalgic and heartbreaking — spans several mayoral eras. “I think that reached a turning point when I started to realize that communities of color were being targeted specifically, and it felt like we weren’t just migrating to new neighborhoods — we were being pushed out of the city completely,” she adds. “Seeing families displaced and seeing the impact of that is really what drove me to tell the story that becomes Terry and Inez’s story.”
The film stars Teyana Taylor in her impressive debut as a leading actress. Rockwell cast Taylor after watching hundreds of tapes for the role of Inez, a young woman who kidnaps her young son Terry from the foster system and becomes fiercely dedicated to providing him a sense of home and identity. When Rockwell and the casting director saw Taylor’s audition, they immediately recognized her as their lead.
“I just knew she was the one,” says Rockwell. “I knew she could give me something that I wouldn’t find in the traditional Hollywood actress, because I think Inez’s story is one that comes from such a raw, personal, street-woman place. I needed that authenticity and I needed somebody who knew this woman in real life and could connect with her in a real way.”
“A Thousand and One” will be released theatrically by Focus Features in March.
Rockwell, who’s currently based in Los Angeles, is looking forward to sharing her story with Sundance audiences and continuing to make new connections at the festival.
“As a first-time filmmaker, somebody who wants to have a very long career, I’m still meeting people, I’m still connecting with people,” adds Rockwell. “I’m excited for the doors that will open for me as I continue on my journey of trying to tell really great stories.”
