A. V. Rockwell

A. V. Rockwell (born Alina Victoria Rockwell[1]) is an American film director. In 2023, she made her directorial feature film debut with the film A Thousand and One.[2]

A. V. Rockwell
Born
Queens, New York City, U.S.
EducationNew York University
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2016–present
Notable workA Thousand and One
Awards Sundance Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic (2023); Guggenheim Fellowship (2017)

Early life and education

Rockwell was born and raised in Queens, New York, to parents from Jamaica.[2] She attended high school at Brooklyn Technical High School[3] and attended film school at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.[4] One of her early inspirations to pursue film came from studying European cinema while studying in Paris.[5]

Career

One of Rockwell's early works was the series Open City Mixtape, which followed young people's stories in New York City, and was shot in black-and-white. Subsequently, Rockwell worked with Alicia Keys on the music-focused short film The Gospel for Keys' sixth studio album, Here.[6]

In 2018, Rockwell released her short film Feathers,[7] which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.[8] For Feathers, Rockwell was named the grand-prize winner of the Tribeca Film Institute and CHANEL’s Through Her Lens grant; the film was selected as part of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was then acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures for their Searchlight Shorts collection.[9][10]

Rockwell (right) and actress Teyana Taylor promote A Thousand and One. The film received universal acclaim.[11]

In 2023, Rockwell made her feature debut with A Thousand and One, starring Teyana Taylor and set in Harlem, New York, between 1994 and 2005.[12] The film debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival,[13] where it won the Grand Jury Prize.[14] She has cited Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee as influences, as well as the films Goodfellas, Crooklyn, Do the Right Thing, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Z, The Battle of Algiers, and Seven Beauties.[15]

Over her career, Rockwell has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, was a 2018 Young Guns design award finalist,[9] and has received fellowships from the Sundance Institute and the John S. Guggenheim Foundation.[16]

Filmography
Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2016 The Gospel Yes Yes No Short film
2018 Feathers Yes Yes Yes Short film
2023 A Thousand and One Yes Yes Executive Feature directorial debut
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize — U.S. Dramatic

References
  1. Staff, Shadow and Act. "Get to Know A.V. Rockwell: Filmmaker Tells S&A About Dark Elements of Her 'Open City Mixtape' Shorts". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. Dargis, Manohla (2023-03-30). "'A Thousand and One' Review: A New York Love Story". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  3. "'A Thousand and One' Director A.V. Rockwell on Her Heartbreaking New Film". Vogue. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  4. "Six Films that Inspire A.V. Rockwell '12". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  5. "A.V. Rockwell on her short film 'Feathers' and why 'the land of the free' isn't free for all". Los Angeles Times. 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  6. Oretsky, Meghan (2017-02-23). "A.V. Rockwell celebrates NYC's many colors in black and white". Vimeo Blog. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  7. Alexander, Sonya (31 March 2023). "Telling a Multi-Layered Urban Drama: A.V. Rockwell Discusses Her First Feature 'A Thousand and One'". Script University. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. "SCREENINGS". FEATHERS | A SHORT FILM BY A.V. ROCKWELL. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  9. "A.V. Rockwell". Free The Bid. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  10. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/fox-searchlight-launches-searchlight-shorts-1203166418/
  11. "A Thousand and One". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  12. "How A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One Pays Homage to A Forgotten NYC and Its Most Vulnerable Citizens". Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  13. Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "A.V. Rockwell on Writing a Love Letter to Black Women With 'A Thousand and One' (Exclusive)". A.frame. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  14. Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "All the Winners of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Awards". A.frame. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  15. "A.V. Rockwell breaks down her Sundance winner 'A Thousand and One,' now in theaters". WTOP News. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  16. McNary, Dave (2020-12-02). "Focus Features Backs A.V. Rockwell's Directorial Debut 'A Thousand and One'". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
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