Episode Overview

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Alison Stewart (with guest host Koosha Navadar)
Date: March 15, 2024
Episode Theme:
A deep-dive conversation with writer and director A.V. Rockwell, whose film A Thousand and One is nominated for seven NAACP Image Awards. Rockwell discusses the film’s exploration of gentrification, Black womanhood, family, motherhood, and the lived experience of Harlem as depicted through the story of Inez and her son Terry. The episode surfaces rich cultural and contextual commentary on how changes in New York City impact its most vulnerable residents.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Genesis of the Film: From Themes to Story

• Themes First, Story Second:
  Rockwell began with themes—her relationship to New York City, gentrification, Black womanhood, and motherhood—before developing the specifics of the family at the film’s center.
  • “For me, just in the ways that I was reconciling with my relationship to New York... gentrification is definitely a part of this story. But I think what the movie really explores is how we got to gentrification being something that's now dominating so much of life in the city.” (A.V. Rockwell, 01:36)
• The Human Cost:
  She wanted to highlight the price paid by families—especially the marginalized—when neighborhoods are “changing for the better” but at significant personal cost.

2. Visual Storytelling of New York’s Changing Landscape

• Landmarks as Narrative Tools:
  The film features significant New York landmarks to reflect loss of neighborhood history.
  • “There's this great shot of the Hotel Theresa in Harlem... and then it dissolves into an Old Navy... this is how jarring it is for this neighborhood to lose so much history and for people to be losing their homes.” (Alison Stewart, 03:21)
• Mayors as Era Bookends:
  Rockwell structured the film’s timeline to coincide with the transition from the Giuliani to Bloomberg administrations (1994–early 2000s), using their rhetoric and policies to illustrate the contradictory impacts of city improvement.
  • “The way I focused on structuring the film was through bookending two mayors... you see Giuliani come in in ‘94... then we move into Bloomberg... you see these changes that continue and how that, again, contradicts what’s being said...” (A.V. Rockwell, 04:52)
• Faces of Gentrification:
  The film humanizes the forces of gentrification—landlords, changing neighbors—not just physical or aesthetic transformation.
  • “A lot of times people think of gentrification... as just some new neighbors... but it’s a lot of things all coming together.” (A.V. Rockwell, 06:29)

3. Character Study: Inez, a Complicated Mother

• Adjectives for Inez:
  “She’s a force... deeply loving, deeply loyal and committed... a criminal with a heart of gold... impulsive, humorous, feisty... deeply, deeply sad, deeply longing for love... a very layered, complicated woman.” (A.V. Rockwell, 07:46)
• Maternal Impulse over Pre-mediation:
  Inez’s decision to take Terry comes from impulse and desperation, not a calculated plan.
  • “It was absolutely impulse... it just dawns on her that I have no idea how I am going to find you again once you’re moved... a moment of panic and desperation.” (A.V. Rockwell, 09:13)

4. Motherhood Under Scrutiny

• Complex Judgement:
  The film asks what it truly means to be a good mother and how society judges women who parent under difficult circumstances.
  • “She wants to [provide] but she doesn't necessarily... isn’t necessarily equipped to do it... she just really wants to help this young boy.” (Alison Stewart, 10:40)
• Lack of Resources and Support:
  Rockwell points out Inez’s youth and lack of role models, emblematic of many young, single mothers:
  • “Inez is young. She’s 22 when the movie starts... still a kid trying to figure out yourself, trying to figure out life... how do I create a life for you in which both of our survivals are managed and taken care of?... I didn’t have a mom. I didn’t have parenting. I didn’t have people around me that nurtured me in that way.” (A.V. Rockwell, 10:58)

5. Research, Writing, and Production Choices

• Writing Process:
  Started in 2018, blending lived experience with deep research, especially around New York history and the realities of foster care.
  • “I started it from a place of experience... but I did a lot of research... not only in terms of things that serve the plot... but also just like, what was going on in New York aside from what I knew, aside from what I lived and observed and historically, what took place.” (A.V. Rockwell, 12:06)
• Authenticity of Place—Filming in Harlem:
  Shooting on location in Harlem was essential. Local businesses, residents, and the sounds of Harlem helped root the film in its true context.
  • “It was so important to me to shoot in Harlem because I wanted to make sure that I was reflecting the neighborhood that I wanted to protect... the movie benefits not only narratively, but... I think just being able to shoot in Harlem and have Harlemites be a part of this film... this is the way that I’m also empowering this community.” (A.V. Rockwell, 13:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gentrification:
  “When you say a neighborhood is changing for the better... but yet the people that are most marginalized and most vulnerable are put in these positions where they're yet again being offended. I wanted to showcase that human price...”
  — A.V. Rockwell (02:24)

• Capturing Harlem’s Essence:
  “Harlem... it’s just a musical neighborhood. I think overall, it was just everything that I—especially being that I lived in Harlem at the time—everything that I could do to embody and celebrate Harlem, both on and off camera, I incorporated that into this.”
  — A.V. Rockwell (13:47)

• On Motherhood and Survival:
  “There’s no foolproof guide to like how to be the right parent. And so I think she's just figuring it out as she goes to the best of her abilities.”
  — A.V. Rockwell (11:51)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:48 – Introduction by Koosha Navadar, setting up the special NAACP Image Awards focus and context for A Thousand and One
• 01:30 – Alison Stewart introduces AV Rockwell and the genesis of the film’s themes
• 03:20 – Discussion on using New York landmarks and visual storytelling
• 04:52 – Influence of mayoral administrations on the film’s structure and narrative
• 06:29 – AV Rockwell breaks down the “faces” and impact of gentrification
• 07:46 – Character exploration: Adjectives for Inez
• 09:13 – The impulsive, protective act at the film's start
• 10:40 – Deeper conversation on motherhood, capability, and societal judgments
• 12:06 – Rockwell details research and writing process
• 13:19 – On-location shooting in Harlem, community involvement, and authentic texture

Tone and Style

The conversation is intimate, reflective, and steeped in cultural and social context. Rockwell and Stewart discuss difficult topics with empathy and candor, preserving the complexity of individuals and communities at the heart of A Thousand and One.