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A Thousand And One marks Josiah Cross’ (King Richard) second feature film credit. The picture won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, as Cross and his fellow co-stars delivered inspired work in this New York set story. Cross talked to Deepest Dream about the film and why challenging himself is an important part in his life.
Directed and penned by A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand And One centers on Inez (Teyana Taylor), a woman who takes her six-year-old son Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola) away from the foster care system. Along with her boyfriend Lucky (William Catlett), Inez does her best to raise Terry throughout the years.
Set in 1994 Harlem, the narrative also devotes some time in 2001 and 2005, as the gentrification of the area takes hold. Aven Courtney is Terry at 13, with Josiah Cross playing him at 17. I start off the interview effusively praising Cross for his performance, and my guess is much more scripts will come his way partly thanks to A Thousand And One.
“I feel like my guiding light or Northern Star to inhabiting Terry was a loyal commitment to the truth,” said Cross. “And my disciplined effort to that is what led to the manifestation of what you saw on screen. I feel like empathy is what is going to connect us more, bring us to a more unified state as a people in the world. I think empathy is what is going to allow us to connect and that is what allowed me to connect with the spirit of Terry.”
Full interview with Josiah Cross is below:
Check out my review of A Thousand And One (my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½) on CinemAddicts:
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