The screening (on 25 June) was hosted in European preview at the sixty-ninth edition of the Taormina Film Festival. ,One thousand and one”, The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2023 for the direction of av rockwell with and hero Teyana Taylor, A masterclass dedicated to the two actors and narrators at the ancient theater in Taormina, where the vision of the film product took place, gave attendees an opportunity to understand how much Taylor and Rockwell felt making the film and what they transmitted through it. film,
Interview of two talented girls of American cinema on stage in Taormina elvira terranovaWith the intervention of the artistic director of the festival Barrett Wiseman and Superintendent of the Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation Esther Bonafede, explained how “A Thousand and One” is the story of New York women who manage to overcome life’s difficulties with their own strength. And they often do it in harsh contexts or by factors that make it so, often with negative effects such as gentrification, which marginalizes residents of the historic districts of the Big Apple – Harlem in the case of the film Inez’s protagonist –. His life becomes more complicated. At the center of the plot is a woman named Inez who, in 1994, kidnaps a child in Harlem who she claims is her son. From that moment a story will develop between poverty, violence, but also love for her son, who goes through the following years – until 2004 – skilfully read by director Avi Rockwell representing all the changes of those years in New York. does. And Harlem to be precise.
rockwell, Jo said her film represents the same women who struggle beyond life’s travails, always wanting to convey the voices of New York. In fact, one of his first works was a series, made in black and white, “Open City Mixtape”, which chronicled the stories of New York City youth on screen. After collaborating with Alicia Keys for a short film on “The Gospel” – for the American singer’s sixth studio album – her short film “Feathers” won a Tribeca Film Institute Award, allowing her to make her feature film debut. got a chance to start. , i.e. hero film Teyana Taylor, The latter has so far followed a career which has included various phases. The first, more associated with dance, as a dancer and choreographer, also for Beyoncé. The second, around 2010, saw her devoting herself primarily to singing, collaborating with stars such as John Legend, Missy Elliott, and Lauryn Hill. In parallel to her exploits in singing, a field she announced she had quit in 2020, Taylor proved she has acting talent, further fueling her fame with more than sixteen million followers on Instagram. .
That said, her transition into cinema was graceful and overall easy, as she had often been in the context of music video productions, both as choreographer and protagonist. The American model claimed that the character portrayed in Rockwell’s film is a woman who challenges the world. Her personal method of preparing for the performance was to remember all the hardships she had to overcome to affirm the talents that made her famous as a choreographer, singer and actress, from Angela Bassett to the later artistic form Took inspiration for
As far as her interpretive skills are concerned, her ease of immersing herself in the character, without judging her, but rather empathizing with her, is one of the qualities Rockwell most admired, which added another layer of authenticity to her. made an important gift. Rockwell herself has said that she usually tries to recognize the needs of the actors she works with, supports their ability to fully engage with the role, and immediately found a language with Taylor. which can gradually stratify the aspects. A character who represents the pride of many daily battles women face.
by Gianmaria Tesi