I know we’ve barely finished awards season, but it’s never too early to keep an eye out for the great projects you’ll hear about in the upcoming awards cycle. Coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, the movie everyone was talking about was one thousand and one. In her feature debut, AV Rockwell helms a story about Inez, played by Teyana Taylor, an unpredictable woman who brings her son home from the foster system and then attempts to give them a fresh start. The Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner is the moving story of a complex black woman who tries her best to survive in a world that generally doesn’t care about her needs and wants. Rockwell spoke to The root on the film’s recognition and how Inez’s story is received.

Sundance can be unpredictable, so it’s amazing to see such a unique black story receive praise usually reserved for indie darlings. For the director, this confirms the hard work she and the whole team have provided.

“It’s been truly magnificent. The making of this film, its release and the way it’s been received so far, is truly a moment of triumph. Not just for me as a filmmaker with my first film, for everyone, the entire cast and crew,” Rockwell said. The root. “Everyone has committed so deeply to this project and been so invested in it. It’s a beautiful moment for all of us to celebrate. It was truly magical. The way this film highlights the experiences of a lot of people. It was one thing for me to see them, but now the world is really showing up for them too. Recognizing their history, defending it, celebrating it and embracing it.

As we’ve seen through this painfully disappointing awards season, our stories, especially those centered on black women, are not getting the attention they deserve. There is always another story that needs to be emphasized more. Rockwell sees the success and reception of one thousand and one as proof that our stories are still recognized by the public.

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“I had no idea if it was primarily a story about a black woman, if people were going to see her, see us, and see what I had to say about us. It kind of adds to how much I feel this special moment because they not only see me, but they see us collectively,” she said. “That’s the story I wanted to tell and that’s what I hoped people would finally recognize, finally have empathy for us. I really appreciate all the recognition and also the conversations that are inspired by what people have to say after seeing the film.

It’s extremely difficult to make your first film. It’s 100 times harder when you’re a black woman telling the story of a complicated black mother. The mere fact that Rockwell crossed the finish line with this film is a spectacular feat. She appreciates how the rest of the team behind the film supported her throughout the process.

“Making your first film is a feat in general. Finding the right collaborators, finding the people who helped you make that movie, and working with a small budget to do it. It’s just having a limited amount of resources,” Rockwell said. “I liked that while it might not be something they inherently identified with on the surface, they identified with the store on a human level. Just the story of these two human beings, fighting for love, fighting for family and fighting for things that we all universally want.

Although she still has a lot of work to do with her debut, Rockwell is absolutely thinking about the future and her next destination.

“I’m already thinking about what I want to do next. I’ve just started developing other ideas and starting the idea writing process. I’m so excited to begin my journey as an official filmmaker, but also on television,” she said. “It’s a wonderful space that I want to be open to and it might give me a bigger platform to share some of the stories I’m looking forward to telling.”

one thousand and one opens in theaters on March 31.