A. V. Rockwell
{{Short description|American filmmaker}}
{{Infobox director
| name = A. V. Rockwell
| image = A.V. Rockwell in 2023.jpg
| caption = Rockwell in 2023
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Queens, New York City, U.S.
| education = New York University
| occupation = Filmmaker
| years_active = 2016–present
| notable_works = A Thousand and One
| parents =
| awards = Sundance Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic (2023); Guggenheim Fellowship (2017)
}}
A. V. Rockwell (born Alina Victoria Rockwell{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Shadow and Act |title=Get to Know A.V. Rockwell: Filmmaker Tells S&A About Dark Elements of Her 'Open City Mixtape' Shorts |url=https://shadowandact.com/get-to-know-a-v-rockwell-filmmaker-tells-sa-about-dark-elements-of-her-open-city-mixtape-shorts |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Shadow and Act |language=en}}) 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.{{Cite news |last=Dargis |first=Manohla |date=March 30, 2023 |title='A Thousand and One' Review: A New York Love Story |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/movies/a-thousand-and-one-review.html |access-date=April 2, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}
Early life and education
Rockwell was born and raised in Queens, New York, to parents from Jamaica. She attended high school at Brooklyn Technical High School{{Cite web |last=Antrim |first=Taylor |date=March 31, 2023 |title='A Thousand and One' Director A.V. Rockwell on Her Heartbreaking New Film |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/a-thousand-and-one-teyana-taylor-av-rockwell-interview |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Vogue}} and attended film school at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.{{Cite web |title=Six Films that Inspire A.V. Rockwell '12 |url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/alumni/alumni-news/six-films-that-inspire-a-v--rockwell--12 |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=tisch.nyu.edu |language=en}} One of her early inspirations to pursue film came from studying European cinema while studying in Paris.{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Tre’vell |date=September 9, 2018 |title=A.V. Rockwell on her short film 'Feathers' and why 'the land of the free' isn't free for all |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-av-rockwell-feathers-tiff-20180909-story.html |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Oretsky |first=Meghan |date=2017-02-23 |title=A.V. Rockwell celebrates NYC's many colors in black and white |url=https://vimeo.com/blog/post/a-v-rockwell-celebrates-nyc-s-many-colors-in-black/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Vimeo Blog |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Petrarca |first=Emilia |date=October 28, 2016 |title=A.V. Rockwell, Young Filmmaker and Alicia Keys Collaborator, Just Won an $80,000 Prize from Chanel |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/av-rockwell-young-filmmaker-and-alicia-keys-collaborator-just-won-an-dollar80000-prize-from-chanel |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=W Magazine}} The work gave her a silver Clio Awards.{{Cite web |title=Clio Music Winners - A.V. Rockwell |url=https://clios.com/music/winners?program=music&year=all&search=A.V.%2BRockwell |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Clio Awards}}
In 2018, Rockwell released her short film Feathers,{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Sonya |date=31 March 2023 |title=Telling a Multi-Layered Urban Drama: A.V. Rockwell Discusses Her First Feature 'A Thousand and One' |url=https://scriptmag.com/interviews-features/telling-a-multi-layered-urban-drama-a-v-rockwell-discusses-her-first-feature-a-thousand-and-one |access-date=2 April 2023 |website=Script University}} which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.{{Cite web |title=SCREENINGS |url=https://www.feathersthefilm.com/screenings |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=FEATHERS {{!}} A SHORT FILM BY A.V. ROCKWELL |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web |title=A.V. Rockwell |url=https://www.freethebid.com/directors/a-v-rockwell/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Free The Bid |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2019-03-19 |title=Film News Roundup: Fox Searchlight Launches Searchlight Shorts |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/fox-searchlight-launches-searchlight-shorts-1203166418/ |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
File:Teyana Taylor and A.V. Rockwell (1).jpg. The film received universal acclaim.{{cite Metacritic|type=movie|id=a-thousand-and-one|title=A Thousand and One|access-date=April 19, 2023}}]]
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.{{Cite web |title=How A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One Pays Homage to A Forgotten NYC and Its Most Vulnerable Citizens |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/how-a-v-rockwells-a-thousand-and-one-pays-homage-to-a-forgotten-nyc-and-its-most-vulnerable-citizens/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |language=en-US}} The film debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival,{{Cite web |last=Sciences |first=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and |title=A.V. Rockwell on Writing a Love Letter to Black Women With 'A Thousand and One' (Exclusive) |url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/av-rockwell-a-thousand-and-one-interview-exclusive |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=A.frame |language=en}} where it won the Grand Jury Prize.{{Cite web |last=Sciences |first=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and |title=All the Winners of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Awards |url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/2023-sundance-film-festival-awards-winners-list |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=A.frame |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-31 |title=A.V. Rockwell breaks down her Sundance winner 'A Thousand and One,' now in theaters |url=https://wtop.com/entertainment/2023/03/a-v-rockwell-breaks-down-her-sundance-winner-a-thousand-and-one-now-in-theaters/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=WTOP News |language=en}}
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, and has received fellowships from the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute and the John S. Guggenheim Foundation.{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2020-12-02 |title=Focus Features Backs A.V. Rockwell's Directorial Debut 'A Thousand and One' |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/lena-waithe-av-rockwell-a-thousand-and-one-1234844341/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} She won the Breakthrough Director Award at the 2023 Gotham Awards for her work in her feature film directorial debut A Thousand and One.{{Cite web |last=Pedersen |first=Jill Goldsmith, Erik |last2=Goldsmith |first2=Jill |last3=Pedersen |first3=Erik |date=2023-11-28 |title=Gotham Awards: ‘Past Lives’ Wins Best Feature – Full Winners List |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/gotham-awards-2023-winners-list-1235638894/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Director !Writer !Producer !Notes |
| 2016
|The Gospel |Yes |Yes |No |Short film |
| 2018
|Feathers |Yes |Yes |Yes |Short film |
| 2023
|Yes |Yes |Executive |Feature directorial debut |
Accolades
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.therockwell.co/ A.V. Rockwell website]
- {{IMDb name|5690427}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTHi57uxBg Video: The Gospel]
- [https://video.vice.com/en_ca/video/the-director-imagining-freedom-for-black-boys/5ba2bd1bbe40776a5a705494?ref=vice Video: The Director Imagining Freedom for Black Boys]
{{Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockwell, A. V.}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Brooklyn Technical High School alumni
Category:New York University alumni
Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners
Category:Mass media people from Queens, New York
Category:Film directors from New York City
Category:African-American film directors
Category:African-American directors