This interview contains spoilers about the end of “A Thousand And One.”
“It was a beautiful moment,” reflects Lena Waithe on the 33rd annual Gotham Awards, where the producer of the film “A Thousand And One” celebrated three nominations and a victory for A.V. Rockwell for Breakthrough Director. As she explains, “We’ve been rocking with A.V. for a while… A.V. has passion and something to say.” Rishi Rajani, the CEO of Waithe’s production company Hillman Grad, had pitched her on the idea that she “should be working with directors like A.V.,” and, indeed, she signed on to producer the writer-director’s first feature film before she had even seen a script. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“A Thousand And One” follows the mother-son relationship of Inez (Teyana Taylor) and Terry as they lean on each other after Inez is released from Rikers Island and...
“It was a beautiful moment,” reflects Lena Waithe on the 33rd annual Gotham Awards, where the producer of the film “A Thousand And One” celebrated three nominations and a victory for A.V. Rockwell for Breakthrough Director. As she explains, “We’ve been rocking with A.V. for a while… A.V. has passion and something to say.” Rishi Rajani, the CEO of Waithe’s production company Hillman Grad, had pitched her on the idea that she “should be working with directors like A.V.,” and, indeed, she signed on to producer the writer-director’s first feature film before she had even seen a script. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“A Thousand And One” follows the mother-son relationship of Inez (Teyana Taylor) and Terry as they lean on each other after Inez is released from Rikers Island and...
- 12/4/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
A.V. Rockwell never saw herself as a writer until her hit feature debut “A Thousand and One.”
The film, which counts Lena Waithe as a producer, centers on Inez and Terry, a Black mother and son who are growing together as they navigate gentrification, police brutality and financial distress in a changing New York City.
Almost a year after its Sundance debut, the Gotham Award-nominated film that Rockwell wrote and directed continues to receive acclaim for its riveting story and raw characters.
Why did you choose this story for your feature directorial debut?
I wanted to tell a story that spoke to my upbringing in New York City. Around the time I started writing the movie, gentrification was a big thing that was happening. I think the movie explores the fact that [Black people] were under attack the entire time, feeling targeted in the way that our community was by gentrification. I...
The film, which counts Lena Waithe as a producer, centers on Inez and Terry, a Black mother and son who are growing together as they navigate gentrification, police brutality and financial distress in a changing New York City.
Almost a year after its Sundance debut, the Gotham Award-nominated film that Rockwell wrote and directed continues to receive acclaim for its riveting story and raw characters.
Why did you choose this story for your feature directorial debut?
I wanted to tell a story that spoke to my upbringing in New York City. Around the time I started writing the movie, gentrification was a big thing that was happening. I think the movie explores the fact that [Black people] were under attack the entire time, feeling targeted in the way that our community was by gentrification. I...
- 11/20/2023
- by Raquel 'Rocky' Harris
- The Wrap
There is no shortage this September of new (and old) things to watch on Prime Video! The Amazon streamer is adding over 300 new TV series and films to its library this month, from highly anticipated season premieres to classic movies.
Included in the list this month are many Amazon Originals, including the highly anticipated “Cassandro,” starring Gael García Bernal, and the Season 2 premiere of the high fantasy series “The Wheel of Time,” starring Rosamund Pike.
But if you’re looking to revisit old favorites, Prime Video will be adding hundreds of movies to its library, including the “Bourne” franchise, “The Birdcage,” and many, many others.
Not sure where to start? Check out The Streamable’s picks below for what’s coming to platform this month!
30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in September 2023? “The Wheel of Time” Season 2 | Friday, Sept.
Included in the list this month are many Amazon Originals, including the highly anticipated “Cassandro,” starring Gael García Bernal, and the Season 2 premiere of the high fantasy series “The Wheel of Time,” starring Rosamund Pike.
But if you’re looking to revisit old favorites, Prime Video will be adding hundreds of movies to its library, including the “Bourne” franchise, “The Birdcage,” and many, many others.
Not sure where to start? Check out The Streamable’s picks below for what’s coming to platform this month!
30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in September 2023? “The Wheel of Time” Season 2 | Friday, Sept.
- 8/31/2023
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
A Thousand and One is one of the most high-profile indie movies of the year after winning the Grand Jury Prize at the most recent Sundance Film Festival. The story is universal and timeless. It’s also rooted in the specific milieu of Harlem, New York in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Recreating this location was vital to writer and director A.V. Rockwell during the planning and production of A Thousand and One. She went to great lengths to ensure the movie’s setting was as realistic as the characters.
‘A Thousand And One’ is a passion project for Rockwell
A Thousand and One about a single mother named Inez (Teyana Taylor in her best performance yet). Inez attempts to create a safe and fulfilling life for her child Terry.
In a profile on Sundance’s official website, Rockwell said that she began working on the script for A Thousand and One...
Recreating this location was vital to writer and director A.V. Rockwell during the planning and production of A Thousand and One. She went to great lengths to ensure the movie’s setting was as realistic as the characters.
‘A Thousand And One’ is a passion project for Rockwell
A Thousand and One about a single mother named Inez (Teyana Taylor in her best performance yet). Inez attempts to create a safe and fulfilling life for her child Terry.
In a profile on Sundance’s official website, Rockwell said that she began working on the script for A Thousand and One...
- 4/16/2023
- by Sam Hines
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
There are eight million stories in the naked city — the saga of Inez de la Paz is just one of them.
A Thousand and One wants you to pay attention to this particular tale, however, and to give her experience its due. This woman could be anybody. But as A.V. Rockwell’s movie insistently reminds you, she is somebody. Attention deserves to be paid. It’s 1994, and Inez (Teyana Taylor) has just finished a bid at Rikers Island. She’s returned to Brooklyn, with the idea of either getting her...
A Thousand and One wants you to pay attention to this particular tale, however, and to give her experience its due. This woman could be anybody. But as A.V. Rockwell’s movie insistently reminds you, she is somebody. Attention deserves to be paid. It’s 1994, and Inez (Teyana Taylor) has just finished a bid at Rikers Island. She’s returned to Brooklyn, with the idea of either getting her...
- 3/29/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
"Something gonna happen - I can feel it." Focus Features is releasing the acclaimed, award-winning film A Thousand and One in select US theaters this week - starting on March 31st (and in the UK on April 21st). The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the renowned top prize at the fest. After unapologetic and fiercely loyal Inez takes her son Terry from the foster care system, mother & son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, stability, in a rapidly changing New York City. Spanning decades of time in the big city. Newcomer Teyana Taylor stars as Inez, with Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, Josiah Cross, William Catlett, Terri Abney, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, and Adriane Lenox. This is one of the finest directorial debuts all year so far, and everyone who has seen it has been raving about it since January.
- 3/29/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Teyana Taylor celebrated the New York premiere of her new film, "A Thousand and One," with two very special guests on Monday night: her daughters, Junie, 7, and Rue Shumpert, 2, whom she shares with husband Iman Shumpert. Dressed in matching denim outfits, the trio turned the movie screening into a fun girls' night out as they posed for pictures on the red carpet. Also in attendance were Taylor's costars Josiah Cross, Aaron Kingsley Adetola, William Catlett, and Aven Courtney.
"A Thousand and One" centers on Inez (played by Taylor), a young mother who reconnects with her son, Terry, after she is released from prison in 1994. It follows their journey as they struggle to survive in an increasingly gentrified and evolving New York City. While it's not exactly based on a true story, it draws inspiration from director A.V. Rockwell's life and her relationship with the city.
Speaking to Access Atlanta,...
"A Thousand and One" centers on Inez (played by Taylor), a young mother who reconnects with her son, Terry, after she is released from prison in 1994. It follows their journey as they struggle to survive in an increasingly gentrified and evolving New York City. While it's not exactly based on a true story, it draws inspiration from director A.V. Rockwell's life and her relationship with the city.
Speaking to Access Atlanta,...
- 3/28/2023
- by Monica Sisavat
- Popsugar.com
Check out the new poster (below) for the new film from writer/director A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand an One starring Teyana Taylor, as well as the trailer (above).
A Thousand And One follows unapologetic and free-spirited Inez (Teyana Taylor), who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at The Sundance Film Festival
About The Film
Genre: Crime, Drama Cast: Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, Aaron Kingsley Adetola Director: A.V. Rockwell Screenplay: A.V. Rockwell Producers: Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani, Brad Weston
A Thousand And One is only in theaters Friday, March 31, 2023!
For More Information, Please Visit:
Official Site / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / #AThousandAndOne
The post “A Thousand and One...
A Thousand And One follows unapologetic and free-spirited Inez (Teyana Taylor), who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at The Sundance Film Festival
About The Film
Genre: Crime, Drama Cast: Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, Aaron Kingsley Adetola Director: A.V. Rockwell Screenplay: A.V. Rockwell Producers: Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani, Brad Weston
A Thousand And One is only in theaters Friday, March 31, 2023!
For More Information, Please Visit:
Official Site / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / #AThousandAndOne
The post “A Thousand and One...
- 3/27/2023
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
A Thousand and One Trailer — A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One (2023) movie trailer has been released by Focus Features. The A Thousand and One trailer stars Teyana Taylor, Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, Josiah Cross, William Catlett, Terri Abney, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, and Adriane Lenox. Crew A.V. Rockwell wrote the screenplay [...]
Continue reading: A Thousand And One (2023) Movie Trailer: Teyana Taylor kidnaps Her Son from Foster Care in A.V. Rockwell’s Film...
Continue reading: A Thousand And One (2023) Movie Trailer: Teyana Taylor kidnaps Her Son from Foster Care in A.V. Rockwell’s Film...
- 2/25/2023
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) revealed the group of Hollywood leaders that will present at the upcoming awards ceremony.
PGA announced a star-studded slate of presenters, including Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”); Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”); Austin Butler (“Elvis”); Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”); Paul Dano and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”); Jay Ellis and Monica Barbaro (“Top Gun”); Hong Chau and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”); Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom, Jr. (“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”); Cate Blanchett (“Tár”); Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”); as well as Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Billy Eichner, Bob Odenkirk, Dave Burd, Diego Luna, Eugenio Derbez, Hannah Einbinder, Mo Amer, Nicole Byer, Robert Rodriguez, Ron Howard, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sandra Oh, Sherry Lansing and many more.
The ceremony will also honor Tom Cruise with the David O. Selznick Award, Mindy Kaling with the Norman Lear Award,...
PGA announced a star-studded slate of presenters, including Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”); Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”); Austin Butler (“Elvis”); Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”); Paul Dano and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”); Jay Ellis and Monica Barbaro (“Top Gun”); Hong Chau and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”); Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom, Jr. (“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”); Cate Blanchett (“Tár”); Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”); as well as Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Billy Eichner, Bob Odenkirk, Dave Burd, Diego Luna, Eugenio Derbez, Hannah Einbinder, Mo Amer, Nicole Byer, Robert Rodriguez, Ron Howard, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sandra Oh, Sherry Lansing and many more.
The ceremony will also honor Tom Cruise with the David O. Selznick Award, Mindy Kaling with the Norman Lear Award,...
- 2/24/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay, Julia MacCary, Katie Reul and Charna Flam
- Variety Film + TV
In a festival of many breakthroughs, one of the major ones of Sundance Film Festival 2023 was A.V. Rockwell and her directorial debut, the Grand Jury Prize winner A Thousand and One. Starring Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, and Aaron Kingsley Adetola the film follows the unapologetic and free-spirited Inez, who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City. Set for a wide release from Focus Features at the end of next month, the first trailer has now landed.
Jake Kring-Schreifels said in his Sundance review, “In the beginning of A Thousand and One, the New York City streets are alive, detailed and humming with swagger. It’s 1993 and Inez struts through Brooklyn after a five-year stint at Rikers Island,...
Jake Kring-Schreifels said in his Sundance review, “In the beginning of A Thousand and One, the New York City streets are alive, detailed and humming with swagger. It’s 1993 and Inez struts through Brooklyn after a five-year stint at Rikers Island,...
- 2/23/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
"You're a blessing. For your mom especially." Focus Features has revealed a trailer for an indie drama titled A Thousand and One, an award-winning drama about a family in Harlem growing up and struggling to get by. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, playing to rave reviews and immense acclaim. I was at the world premiere at Sundance and it definitely deserves all the buzz (it's included in my Best of the Fest recap). After unapologetic and fiercely loyal Inez takes her son Terry from the foster care system, mother & son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, stability, in a rapidly changing New York City. Newcomer Teyana Taylor stars as Inez, along with Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, Josiah Cross, William Catlett, Terri Abney, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, and Adriane Lenox. This really is a remarkable directorial debut,...
- 2/23/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
While our Sundance Film Festival 2023 coverage continues to roll in, the respective juries at Park City have doled out their winners, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to A Thousand and One (U.S. Dramatic), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (U.S. Documentary), Scrapper (World Cinema Dramatic), and The Eternal Memory (World Cinema Documentary), and the Next Innovator Award presented by Adobe was awarded to Kokomo City.
Check out the full list of winners below, with our coverage where available.
Grand Jury Prizes
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to A.V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One / U.S.A. — Convinced it’s one last, necessary crime on the path to redemption, unapologetic and free-spirited Inez kidnaps 6-year-old Terry from the foster care system. Holding on to their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability in New York City.
Check out the full list of winners below, with our coverage where available.
Grand Jury Prizes
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to A.V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One / U.S.A. — Convinced it’s one last, necessary crime on the path to redemption, unapologetic and free-spirited Inez kidnaps 6-year-old Terry from the foster care system. Holding on to their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability in New York City.
- 1/28/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Teyana Taylor and Aaron Kingsley in ‘A Thousand and One’ (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute / Photo by Focus Features)
The Sundance Film Festival named A Thousand and One from writer/director A.V. Rockwell the winner of the prestigious U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. Directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s The Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2023 festival which hosted in-person screenings as well as access online.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections...
The Sundance Film Festival named A Thousand and One from writer/director A.V. Rockwell the winner of the prestigious U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. Directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s The Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2023 festival which hosted in-person screenings as well as access online.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections...
- 1/27/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Back in Park City, Utah, for the first time since 2020, the Sundance Film Festival concluded with an in-person awards show. The U.S. dramatic grand jury prize went to the Focus Features release “A Thousand and One,” from debut writer-director A.V. Rockwell, one of eight women in this year’s female-led competition.
Jeremy O. Harris, a member of the three-person U.S. dramatic jury at Sundance, choked back tears as he presented the award to Rockwell, admitting that he left the director’s premiere screening and cried on the street, as the film unearthed “all the feelings I’ve learned to mask in public spaces.”
Rockwell’s film is set in an unforgiving New York City in the late ’90s, where a single mother moving from shelter to shelter kidnaps her 6-year-old son from foster care. As they improbably forge a life and bond, their darkest secret threatens to disrupt what they’ve built.
Jeremy O. Harris, a member of the three-person U.S. dramatic jury at Sundance, choked back tears as he presented the award to Rockwell, admitting that he left the director’s premiere screening and cried on the street, as the film unearthed “all the feelings I’ve learned to mask in public spaces.”
Rockwell’s film is set in an unforgiving New York City in the late ’90s, where a single mother moving from shelter to shelter kidnaps her 6-year-old son from foster care. As they improbably forge a life and bond, their darkest secret threatens to disrupt what they’ve built.
- 1/27/2023
- by Matt Donnelly and Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
There is so much to appreciate about A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One. The film chronicles the lives of native New Yorkers from 1994-2005, which was a period of transition in NYC. The atmosphere began to change, as stop and frisk was over-utilized, gentrification was displacing the people of Harlem at rapid speed, and the culture of the city gave way to sterilization. Now there are even fewer resources available, the wage gap is beyond repair and it’s unaffordable. Rockwell drew inspiration from this and created a coming-of-age story about finding an identity and chosen family.
The film starts in 1994, Inez De La Paz (Teyana Taylor) kidnaps her 6-year-old child Terry (Aaron Kingley Adetola) out of the foster care system. She knows what’s in store for him if he stays with the city as she too is a product of the system. Inez finds refuge in a...
The film starts in 1994, Inez De La Paz (Teyana Taylor) kidnaps her 6-year-old child Terry (Aaron Kingley Adetola) out of the foster care system. She knows what’s in store for him if he stays with the city as she too is a product of the system. Inez finds refuge in a...
- 1/23/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The struggles of a young woman of color to rebuild her life after a prison stint are conveyed with deep feeling in A Thousand and One, the affecting first feature from A.V. Rockwell, who sharpened her skills on acclaimed short films and commercials. Led by a performance from Teyana Taylor of youthful swagger that evolves through a series of challenges into hard-won self-possession, the Focus Features release is a tender, often painful portrait of the fractious but loving bond between a mother and son, both spat out of the foster care system. It’s also a rich evocation of New York City in the throes of accelerated gentrification and discriminatory policing.
The gritty textures, sizzling colors and vibrant street life of Harlem, in particular, make that historic neighborhood as much a protagonist as Taylor’s Inez De La Paz, a hair stylist first encountered in 1993 while she’s serving time at Rikers.
The gritty textures, sizzling colors and vibrant street life of Harlem, in particular, make that historic neighborhood as much a protagonist as Taylor’s Inez De La Paz, a hair stylist first encountered in 1993 while she’s serving time at Rikers.
- 1/23/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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