. He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . Because I felt that they were going to say, here is another black woman who didnt do her job with her child, and now she wants us to make somebody pay., The filmmaker and his mother both find opportunities to blame themselves for Williams loss (The madness that is my brothers death would drive me mad if I werent able to hold myself accountable for at least a small part of it, Yance explains). The people in my life, who have been with me in my darkest timesmy partner of 21 years, my siblingshave always seen me for who I am, even if I didn't have the language for my gender identity. black enclave of Central Islip. Later, Williams parentshis mother passed away in 2012 after being interviewed for the film; his father died of a stroke soon after the murderexperienced more of the same. More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case We want to hear from you! Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". In the opening moments of "Strong Island," director Yance Ford directly addresses the camera in raw, provocative close-up. check on the car. We depend on your memberships and donations. after 9/11, to protect his new country. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. Best Picture Nominee Triangle of Sadness Is Now Streaming on Hulu, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Gulmohar' on Hulu, a Hindi Family-Ties Drama Marking the Return of Sharmila Tagore, Steven Spielberg Broke Down in Tears Seeing Paul Dano and Michelle Williams as His Parents in 'The Fabelmans', Is Brendan Frasers The Whale Based on a True Story? In 2017, what are you fearful of? Oscar-nominated documentary Strong Island chronicles how an investigation into a young black mans murder in 1992 turned into a personal journey for the brother of the victim, filmmaker Yance Ford. Studio Screen: Strong Island maysles documentary center I'm afraid that we're going to move backward to a time when we've embraced a punishment mentality to solve everythingnot just crime but everything. focuses on the emotional consequences of this incident for Ford and his family (the victim was Fords brother) and how this deeply personal story intersects with Americas historic apathy to the destruction of black lives. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. Strong Island questions whether justice can be found, through the intimate story of the filmmaker's brother who was lost to gun violence, and the family's painful search for answers. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their Netflix Nabs Yance Ford's 'Strong Island'; Sundance - Deadline Sing, Unburied, Sing is shadowed by the long aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. Though questions of race and justice are raised, Yance Ford more often examines how he and the rest of his middle-class family dealt, or refused to deal, with the tragedy. Although Ford was unarmed, he . Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. And I hated that moment. Fifty years ago, a Kansas family picked up a hitchhiker on their way to Iowa. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black 2,555, This story has been shared 2,297 times. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. Her father died of an asthma My sister is my best friend. Director: Yance Ford We watch him search for words, struggle to express what he really means; we watch emotions roil across his open face. The Backstory of Netflix's Strong Island Documentary - Peoplemag Yance Ford: I was at Sundanceit was maybe our second screeningand someone in the audience during the Q&A said she'd been in the Bronx ADA's office for 18 years, and that in her opinion, something very wrong happened with this case. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. gangsta rap of that time, 1992, the year of William Ford, Jr.,s death. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. government employees who could afford to be homeowners. There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. All Rights Reserved. In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and Ford and Reilly were never alone in the shop; Ford was details are important. 1,173, This story has been shared 1,060 times. not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. William Ford Jr. was shot and killed on April 7, 1992, an incident at the center of the documentary Strong Island. Something deep inside his family also died that night, and Yance Ford, one of Williams siblings and the films director, explores that loss, exposing a grief that is profound and agonizing. Strong Island, a documentary chronicling the 1992 murder of first-time filmmaker Yance Ford's brother, William Ford Jr., and the effect it had on him and his family, incorporates the dynamics of a police-like procedural and gut-wrenching, upfront, self- confession. When do you think the punishing stops? are gripping in everything they say. skin. We're a long way from there. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. I'm afraid that our civil society is being torn apart bit by bitand not just by tweets and ridiculous statements about good people on both sides. Ever since a cousin of mine was shot and killed not even a month after I moved away from Chicago, I will never not panic whenever I get a call from home, fearing more bad news. For the past ten years, director Yance Ford has been investigating his family's story and the events that unfurled following his brother's murder. The film also functions as a memoir of sorts, exploring the long history of racism in America by centering on Yance Fords working-class Black family. event that becomes a part of story. The 1967 film Guess Whos Coming to Dinner starred Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton as a ne, Tessa Thompson Talks Going To Couples Therapy With Michael B. Jordan. I hear a lot of talk on the net and on my Facebook feed about self-care, and I think that as a nation we need to understand that there are a lot of people in a lot of different positions in this society who need mental healthcare. Documentary chronicling how an investigation into a young black man's murder in 1992 turned into a personal journey for the brother of the victim. for encounters with the police. When Creed first premiered in 2015, the world had no idea how big it would become; after all, it was just, Rocky Balboas iconic ascent up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art out of breath and in gray joggers as Eye of the Tiger blares in the, Spoilers ahead. I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. . Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that from the last pages of William Ford, Jr.,s journal, and from his What happened to Mark Reilly Strong Island? - KnowledgeBurrow.com He died before Yance The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . Respectful attention must be paid, because grief is in the room. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. Washington a thing to say. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am An all-white grand jury refused to indict, accepting it as a case of self-defense. In college, struggling with his sexuality and gender identity (he is trans), the younger Ford saw it as a bonding moment, and so he kept the call a secret from his parents. makes plain, the grand jury didnt care to find out what really The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. His friend Kevin Myers, who was outside the body All rights reserved. "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? system fails you? What do you do when the William Ford, Sr., The The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office means that she hadnt warned him about what white people could get away teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. Sam Fragoso is the host of Talk Easy, a weekly podcast of conversations with filmmakers, writers, musicians, journalists, and, once, his mother. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how William, an unarmed, black 24-year-old teacher, was slain by Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man who was working at an auto body shop on Long Island. The elderly Jewish women in Brooklyn What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances How a White Kid Escaped Punishment After Killing a Black Man - Vice 'Strong Island': Doc Explores A Mysterious Murder [Review] Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. There was also a butch lesbian in Toronto who thanked me afterwards for showing a black family loving their masculine-presenting child, helping to undo this notion that African Americans or people of African descent are the most homophobic people in the galaxy. Im also not willing to accept that someone else gets to say who William was.. Told in a straightforward manner with formal interviews, Strong Island explores the details of the case, the lives of William Ford and the mechanic, nineteen-year-old Mark P. Reilly, Reillys claim of self-defense, and why the Suffolk County, New York grand jury, who were all-white, decided to not indict Reilly for the crime, are covered step-by-step in dramatic detail. Filmmaker Yance Ford Explores Injustice With His Moving - Essence It would be The award was a testament to Yance Fords decision to turn a camera on his family and her, and to tell his brothers story despite its frustrating dead ends. Ad Choices, Actor Graham McTavish Planned a Scottish Castle Wedding for His Bride Garance Dor, 70 Incredible Forgotten Photos From Vintage Oscar Nights, Phil Ohs Best Street Style Photos From the Fall 2023 Shows in Paris. 758, This story has been shared 673 times. Watch Strong Island (2017) online. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that We've Heard This Story Before: Yance Ford on "Strong Island" For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. tells a grand jury is crucial. Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that My father just believed in my document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); WatchDocumentaries.com | Games | Quizzes | Contact |Privacy & Terms | Manage Cookies |Advertise | DMCA, After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what Reilly claimed self-defense. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. I did William a It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. All Rights Reserved. Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain In one of these close-ups, towards the beginning of the film, Ford draws a clear line for his audience: If youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should probably get up and go. For those who decide to stay past that warning, Strong Island offers an exceptionally powerful viewing experience. Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. Yance Fords documentary is about Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. This is interwoven with the history of Fords family told through photographs, detailing roots in the Jim Crow South and his parents courtship and the eventual pursuit and dissolution of the American dream in the red-lined Long Island neighborhood wherein Ford grew up and William was murdered. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Episode Guide: How Many Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Will There Be on Disney+? Movie:Strong Island dont run. happened. On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old. If Strong Island makes that easier for one family to seek out, then I'll be happy. When the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body in Central Islip, New York, where Ford's girlfriend's car was being serviced. His tow truck had hit them two months Her son had Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. . Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. expected the repairs to take. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. Strong Island is just the beginning. S, Welcome to Love Like This?, a romance column where we, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Ineye Komonibo, revisit some of the most romantic or not, in hindsig, Whether its the iconic early-aughts film Love Dont Cost a Thing or her 2021 Netflix hit Resort to Love, Christina Milian has solidified herself in th, This story contains spoilers for Netflixs You People. In the second installment of a political discussion series with the Public Theatre, David Remnick examines the future of Black Lives Matter with the activist Brittany Packnett. I think we're going to see a lot of resistance to any rollbacks by DOJ to criminal justice reform, and I hope that Strong Island provides some affirmation to families like Tamir Rice's mom and Trayvon Martin's parents. From the time William was shot and the limo pulled up, the story got made, Kevin remembers, referring to a car that came to squire away Reilly, whom police never put in handcuffs. A Yanceville Films and Louverture Films production, Strong Island was produced by Ford and Joslyn Barnes and was co-produced by Signe Byrge Srensen for Final Cut for Real. although the property taxes were high. The painful, intimate story of grief to follow focuses on the life and sudden death of Yance's older brother Williammurdered in cold blood in 1992 at the age of 24. actor Ken Curtis "Strong Island" tells the story of the murder of 24-year-old Ford, a black teacher killed by a white 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly in Long Island in 1992. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. Just talking about my transition and when I "came out" is a bit weird, because we have this expectation that every moment of our lives and realization about ourselves is going to be lived in some public arena. I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. Weekend Watch is here for you. . in his own murder. All Rights Reserved. Dunmore Ford Ford, a imposingly large former high school football player who had previously come to Reillys auto body shop and allegedly thrown a vacuum cleaner in frustration, was not alive to defend himself. There is no hint of Rodney King or the 'Strong Island' Will Make You Furious, Which You Should Be There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. Netflix Acquires Yance Ford'S Strong Island grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. autopsy report. Reilly shot Ford through the heart with a rifle but an all-white grand jury, after a less-than-enthusiastic investigation, declined to issue an indictment, and the case died. When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? Ford is also an architectural welder, and while at Modern Art Foundry he helped assemble the sculpture "Maman" by Louise Bourgeoisthe series of three spiders exhibited at Rockefeller Center, and now on permanent display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The family understood that what a D.A. it cuts across class lines. Yance Ford, who is transgender, is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award, a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, a Sundance Documentary Film Program Fellowship, and was among Filmmaker Magazines 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2011. After an argument over the delays, 'Strong Island,' about 1992 LI killing, coming to Netflix The Fords left the Jim Crow South in the 1960s but experienced a different type of prejudice and isolation in their new home on Long Island. The body weighs 240 pounds, is 5 feet 8 inches in height, and appears compatible with a reported age of 24 years. Yance aims to reanimate that corpse. Netflix's Strong Island: A Family Searches for Answers - PEOPLE.com 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. The entire feature is a personal journey for the filmmaker, who has had to endure years of pain because of their brother's death, which has received no justice at all despite the seemingly obvious murder. William Ford had no record and was about to take the happened to the Ford family afterward. Strong Island opens up with the mother . Mark Reilly, a young white man. He was killed right outside of his home, and his mother has to look at the spot where her son died every time she sits on her front porch. Review - Strong Island | Ready Steady Cut Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. They were doing everything I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. Many, many times I wonder: How could I be so wrong?, Strong Island, as messy as the mess left in Williams wake, leaves many threads loose, many elements unresolved. black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not William, an unarmed, black 24-year-old teacher, was slain by Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man who was working at an auto body shop on Long Island. In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. Screen Slate 2010-2023. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he was a mix of overwhelmed and composed. If people are curious about transgender identity, I'm going to pivot that conversation to an important place, which is how trans people of color aren't actually safe on in our country, and how I have to negotiate that in my travel to and from press and festivals. Update January 24, 2018: Strong Island has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, making Ford the first trans person to ever receive an Oscar . 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. Strong Island Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an According to them, no crime had been committed. When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, Strong Island (film) - Wikipedia City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. We get the feeling that parts of them retreated own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the shielded the white youth immediately, never doubting his testimony that himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a experience gave her a love of teaching. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. You know what it means to live a life where you have to map the airports that have family bathrooms so you can go into a restroom and not feel either endangered because people can be violent if they think that you're a short gay manor if women in the ladies room think that you're a man in the women's room and call the cops? Ford was black, Reilly white. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. Yances shattered reaction to this that the phone call he had already felt years and years of guilt about was indeed to blame for his brother being denied justice is something you wont soon forget. It would be an insult to Reilly shot Ford through the heart with a rifle but an all-white grand jury, after a less-than-enthusiastic investigation, declined to issue an indictment, and the case died. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Ford again went to the auto shop and was killed. return a true bill because her son was a black man. STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . "Strong Island": A family's navigation between loss and injustice - Salon Review: Strong Island Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/movies/strong-island-review.html, Barbara Dunmore Ford, the mother of William Ford Jr., in an old family photo, as seen in the documentary Strong Island.. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast.
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