Teyana Taylor has found her breakout role in A Thousand and One, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning drama from writer/director A.V. Rockwell and executive producer Lena Waithe. The story follows Taylor as Inez, a 22-year-old navigating life and parenthood to a young son in early 90’s NYC with few resources and little access.
However, beyond the possible movie star-making dramatic turn for the songstress/producer/choreographer, Taylor reveals that Rockwell’s poignant script struck multiple personal chords with her.
“I instantly connected with Inez,” Taylor says. “I think a lot of us, as Black women, could relate to Inez mentally and emotionally because a lot of her battles are the same things that we’re battling. We’re fighting to be loved, protected, seen, and valued.”
After nearly a year-long stint at Riker’s Island for a theft charge, Inez runs into her 6-year-old son, now in foster care. After he’s injured in an accident at his foster home, Inez makes a decision for both of them that will alter the trajectory of their lives forever.
The film follows the highs and lows of their relationship over the next decade, an experience that Taylor describes as eye-opening for her not only as a mom of two herself, but as a daughter to a single mother who was raised in the same neighborhood her character chooses to raise her son in.
“It made me appreciate my mom’s struggles and everything she went through to make sure I had a better life,” Taylor says. But it also gave her a peek into what may be in store for her as her children grow into teens themselves. “Also as a mother, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s talking back. Is Junie going to talk back when she’s talking to me when she’s this age?’”
Despite the story of small, yet impactful triumphs through adversity and the focus on the transformative nature of a…
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