Mothers are often the keepers of secrets, borne from a primal instinct for survival. But secrets fester, grow bigger and inevitably burst with the resonance of truth, as they do in “A Thousand and One,” the debut feature of writer/director A.V. Rockwell. The film, which won the U.S. dramatic grand jury prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, casts the harrowing story of a mother and her son against the backdrop of a gentrifying Harlem, New York.
“A Thousand and One” proves to be a showcase for multi-hyphenate star and Harlem native Teyana Taylor, who brings to her astonishing performance the coiled physicality of a panther ready to pounce. Her character, Inez, is on the offense as her only form of defense, a stance and ethos that never wavers throughout the 10 years we follow her.
Sweeping aerial shots set to soulful strings introduce us to the iconography of New York City: the Empire State Building, Central Park, and of course, Rikers Island, holding New York City’s largest jail. It’s 1994 and we meet the incarcerated Inez in a tender moment: gently applying makeup to another female inmate. Soon, she’s released back on the streets of Harlem, hawking her services as a hairstylist and desperately trying to stay out of the shelter.
