A. V. Rockwell
American filmmaker
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 , which gave her a Gotham Award , a Black Reel Award , an Independent Spirit Award , a Director's Guild nomination , and nominations at the NAACP Image Awards .[ 2]
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 music short film The Gospel for Keys' sixth studio album, Here .[ 6] [ 7] The work gave her a silver Clio Awards .[ 8]
In 2018, Rockwell released her short film Feathers, [ 9] which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival .[ 10] 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.[ 11] [ 12]
Rockwell (right) and actress Teyana Taylor promote A Thousand and One . The film received universal acclaim.[ 13]
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.[ 14] The film debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival ,[ 15] where it won the Grand Jury Prize.[ 16] 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 .[ 17]
Over her career, Rockwell has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, was a 2018 Young Guns award winner,[ 11] and has received fellowships from the Sundance Institute , Tribeca Film Institute and the John S. Guggenheim Foundation.[ 18] She won the Breakthrough Director Award at the 2023 Gotham Awards for her work in her feature film directorial debut A Thousand and One .[ 19]
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
Accolades
References
^ 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 .
^ a b Dargis, Manohla (March 30, 2023). " 'A Thousand and One' Review: A New York Love Story" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 2, 2023 .
^ Antrim, Taylor (March 31, 2023). " 'A Thousand and One' Director A.V. Rockwell on Her Heartbreaking New Film" . Vogue . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ "Six Films that Inspire A.V. Rockwell '12" . tisch.nyu.edu . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ Anderson, Tre’vell (September 9, 2018). "A.V. Rockwell on her short film 'Feathers' and why 'the land of the free' isn't free for all" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ Oretsky, Meghan (2017-02-23). "A.V. Rockwell celebrates NYC's many colors in black and white" . Vimeo Blog . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ Petrarca, Emilia (October 28, 2016). "A.V. Rockwell, Young Filmmaker and Alicia Keys Collaborator, Just Won an $80,000 Prize from Chanel" . W Magazine . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ a b "Clio Music Winners - A.V. Rockwell" . Clio Awards . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ 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 .
^ "SCREENINGS" . FEATHERS | A SHORT FILM BY A.V. ROCKWELL . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ a b "A.V. Rockwell" . Free The Bid . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ McNary, Dave (2019-03-19). "Film News Roundup: Fox Searchlight Launches Searchlight Shorts" . Variety . Retrieved 2023-11-23 .
^ "A Thousand and One " . Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2023 .
^ "How A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One Pays Homage to A Forgotten NYC and Its Most Vulnerable Citizens" . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ 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 .
^ Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "All the Winners of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Awards" . A.frame . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ "A.V. Rockwell breaks down her Sundance winner 'A Thousand and One,' now in theaters" . WTOP News . 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ McNary, Dave (2020-12-02). "Focus Features Backs A.V. Rockwell's Directorial Debut 'A Thousand and One' " . Variety . Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ Pedersen, Jill Goldsmith, Erik; Goldsmith, Jill; Pedersen, Erik (2023-11-28). "Gotham Awards: 'Past Lives' Wins Best Feature – Full Winners List" . Deadline . Retrieved 2023-11-28 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ Zee, Michaela (February 21, 2024). "African American Film Critics Association Awards: 'American Fiction,' 'The Color Purple' and 'Origin' Nab Top Honors" . Variety . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ Feinberg, Scott (January 7, 2023). "Astra Film Awards: 'Barbie' Wins Eight Awards, Including Best Picture" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 8, 2023 .
^ Whittaker, Richard (January 10, 2024). "Austin Film Critics Association Calls 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Top Film of 2023" . The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved January 11, 2024 .
^ Complex, Valerie (December 20, 2023). "Black Film Critics Circle Winners: 'American Fiction' Takes Home Top Honors" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ Complex, Valerie (December 15, 2023). "Black Reel Awards Nominations: 'The Color Purple' and 'Rustin' Dominate" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 16, 2023 .
^ Jevens, Darel (December 12, 2023). "Chicago critics name 'Killers of the Flower Moon' the year's Best Film" . Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved December 13, 2023 .
^ Pedersen, Erik (January 10, 2024). "DGA Awards Film Nominations: Gerwig, Nolan, Scorsese, Lanthimos & Payne" . Deadline . Retrieved January 10, 2024 .
^ Neglia, Matt (December 21, 2023). "The 2023 Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) Winners" . Next Best Picture. Retrieved December 22, 2023 .
^ Davis, Clayton; Lang, Brent (October 24, 2023). "Gotham Awards Nominations: All of Us Strangers Leads with Four Nominations" . Variety . Retrieved October 25, 2023 .
^ Evans, Greg (September 17, 2018). "Hamptons Fest Sets 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?', 'The Favourite' As Centerpieces; Full Line-Up Announced" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
^ Lang, Brent; Moreau, Jordan (December 5, 2023). "Spirit Awards 2024 Nominations List: 'Past Lives', 'May December', 'American Fiction' Lead with 5 Noms Each" . Variety . Retrieved December 5, 2023 .
^ Hipes, Patrick (January 25, 2024). "Colman Domingo, Keke Palmer, Ayo Edebiri, Victoria Monét Lead NAACP Image Awards Nominations" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 26, 2024 .
^ "OFCS Presents: 27th Annual Nominations for 2023" (Press release). Online Film Critics Society . January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024 .
^ Neglia, Matt (December 19, 2023). "The 2023 San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Winners" . Next Best Picture. Retrieved December 20, 2023 .
^ "2023 Sundance Film Festival Announces Lineup of 99 Feature Films - sundance.org" . 2022-12-07. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-12 .
^ "TIFF Announces Midnight Madness and Documentary Slates, Including 'Halloween' and 'Fahrenheit 11/9' World Premieres" . IndieWire . Retrieved August 11, 2018 .
^ "Tribeca 2016 Announces Lineups for Competition Programs (US Narrative, International Narrative, World Documentary) & Viewpoints" . Tribeca Festival . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
External links