The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. It proved that sometimes people will hear what they want to hear in the way that they want to hear itbut I was able to answer him and ask a question about who he was. shielded the white youth immediately, never doubting his testimony that William Jr. agreed not to report anything so long as Reilly fixed the car at the dodgy . Ford was black, Reilly white. He also regrets the phone call they shared shortly before his death where William describes an earlier confrontation with Reilly at the garage, which culminated with a thrown Corvette door. inside themselves, away from family connection. 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. Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. In an appropriation of true crime style, details and testimonies are shuffled around to increase curiosity and unveil late revelations, some of which are devastating. 1,173, This story has been shared 1,060 times. Fords mother, Barbara 1,393, This story has been shared 1,173 times. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he was a mix of overwhelmed and composed. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? This story has been shared 3,511 times. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. Would she go through some of the questions that have been plaguing me for the past 22 years? asks Yance. findings that, afraid for his life, he had shot Ford in self-defense. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. Sr., loved New York City, implicit in that is their escape from the With Strong Island, first-time director Yance Ford examines the circumstances and aftermath of his brother's 1992 murder.When 24-year-old William Ford, Jr. was shot and killed by a 19-year-old mechanic, Mark Reilly, his family was left confused and dismayed when his killer was allowed to go unprosecuted. 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. 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. For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case Screen Slate is a guide to moving image culture. 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His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. Anyone can read what you share. 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. for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her 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. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? 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. Her father died of an asthma The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. Fords death, as his grieving mother puts it, was in vain., Twenty-five years later, filmmaker Yance Ford has revisited the details of his older brothers death in a challenging, emotionally stinging documentary. Meet Cleo Anthony, Netflix's 'Money Shot' Documentary Trailer Shines A Harsh Light On Pornhub, The "Most Trafficked Website In The World", 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? a shady business. What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? It is jagged with anger. to indict Reilly for manslaughter, accepting the district attorneys The real driving force of the film, however, is Ford himself, who appears in tight close-ups, looking directly into the camera to tell his story and deal with his process of grief. When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. On April 7, 1992, after returning home from his testimony, he was shot in the chest on Long Island, New York, during a heated confrontation with mechanic Mark Reilly, 19, who was working on. Its impossible to ignore who the surviving Fords in Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. When do you think the punishing stops? 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. I'm worried. 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. "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. 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. I enjoyed my brother the hero, and a month or so later, that hero was dead. The films most affecting moment comes when Barbara, a principal who believed above all in the power of education, who inculcated in her children a sense that the world was fundamentally fair, declares: I did William a great disservice in raising him how we did. City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed Ford was unarmed, Reilly brandished a rifle, and the teenagerwho had an extensive criminal recordtook one shot at Ford, piercing him in the heart. Ad Choices. Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on In 1992, an unarmed 24-year-old Long Island man named William Ford, Jr., was shot and killed during a dispute with a 19-year-old auto mechanic named Mark Reilly. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his in this film. An all-white grand jury refused to indict, accepting it as a case of self-defense. But its actually a far more personal, probing project, less a relitigation than a reckoning, less a procedural than a film about the Sisyphean task of processing terrible grief. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film. Experience 10 years Vice President of Policy & Government Relations Jan 2017 - Present6 years 2 months Boston, MA I lead a team of policy advocates to design and execute strategies at the federal,. Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. gangsta rap of that time, 1992, the year of William Ford, Jr.,s death. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . It draws a line around your life, she says. Strong Island, which airs on Netflix today, begins with a phone call from the former prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorneys office who handled Williams case. autopsy report. 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. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. Director: Yance Ford I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. Film Reviews. "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. 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. Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? But I also hope that the film reminds people that it's not just about the five years after the death of a childit's about the 25 years after the death, the long tail. segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. Its my hope that this film will offer some a way to make sense of their own experience, and others a new way of seeing. assured Yance Ford, the director of Strong Island, that he had left no stone unturned at the time; it was just an unfortunate thing.. two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been 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. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. Daniel Hart 1. 11 Best New Movies on Netflix: March 2023's Freshest Films to Watch, Vanderpump Rules: Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix Break Up After He Reportedly Cheated With Raquel Leviss, Sex/Life Season 2: Adam Demos Tops His Famous Full Frontal Moment With, Uh, Tip, New Movies on Streaming: 'Magic Mike's Last Dance' + More, 'Next In Fashion' Season 2 on Netflix: Follow the Designers on Instagram, 'Wheel of Fortune' Gets Awkward as Pat Sajak Snaps at Contestant for Grabbing Wheel: "Don't Touch That", Is 'Yellowstone' On Tonight? return a true bill because her son was a black man. There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. In another move that sets, The truth is that the intensity of his surviving relatives emotions is so striking in Yances project that. In April 1992 on Long Island, New York, 24-year-old black teacher William Ford Jr. was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19-year-old mechanic. 758, This story has been shared 673 times. Ford, Jr.,s killing. 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. story itself. It's not newit's just new to you. 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. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an Strong Island is a 2017 documentary feature film directed by Yance Ford. He wanted to get his family out of the city, and My gender identity has been something that's been known to me since the day I was born. 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 . 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. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. 852, This story has been shared 793 times. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman, serving as executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. 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. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. 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. Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. I did William a You're going to be punished for wanting to serve as a transgender [person], for wanting to have equal treatment if you're queer, if you want equal pay if you're a woman. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Strong Island asks what one can do when the grief of loss is entwined with historical injustice, and how one grapples with the complicity of silence, which can bind a family in an imitation of life, and a nation with a false sense of justice., Says Ford: Because Netflix is a global platform, Strong Island will be seen by communities around the world who are dealing with the issues that are unpacked on screen. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. Yance Fords documentary is about 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. community. I don't want to say that I'm not optimistic, but I don't think that optimism is in my toolbox of feelings, honestly. No, the lawyer responds. Ford was unarmed. To Tell the Story That Tells the Trial: Ulises de la Orden on El juicio. 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. As the title of the film indicates, the events of the film take place on Long Island, New York, where in April of 1992, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19-year-old mechanic after a series of arguments that began with a fender-bender. Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute. Come Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan. motorman, working the He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. 2023 Cond Nast. 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? "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? William Ford had no record and was about to take the Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought And I hated that moment. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. As the documentary Screen Slate 2010-2023. by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads His question was interesting, because it was an example of how some people conflate the two incidents in the film into one. protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . call this an irony. 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. The family understood that what a D.A. 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. William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and The children Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. tells a grand jury is crucial. "Mark Reilly already said everything he had to say to me when he shot and killed my brother." Ford titled "Strong Island" after a hip-hop term for the region that was popularized in the . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Tom Sizemore Dies: 'Saving Private Ryan' & 'Black Hawk Down' Star Was 61; Reactions + Career In Photos, A24 Buys Historic Off Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre For $10M, Ke Huy Quan Lost Health Insurance After Filming Everything Everywhere All At Once, Jay Weston Dies: Lady Sings The Blues Producer Who Gave Al Pacino Broadway Break Was 93. There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. He died before Yance Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth In Strong Island, Bringing a Murdered Brother Back to Life By Julia Felsenthal September 15, 2017 In 1992, an unarmed 24-year-old Long Island man named William Ford, Jr., was shot and. 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. 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. 793, This story has been shared 758 times. Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. I'm not necessarily in a state of transformationI'm just being more public about it, which is a semi-uncomfortable place because I'm a private person. I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. Yance Ford has directed a movie about the death of his brother that distills this kind of frustration into something heartbreaking, but thats what makes it a vital and powerful film. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . All Rights Reserved. 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. had been neighborly; for her, Islip was moving back into a segregated I'm not gonna use that word again!'". 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. he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. The grand jury declined 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. That story is handed from person to person, tied together sense of the experience of watching Strong Island, in which the visual Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. The powerful and very personal documentary Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. If Strong Island makes that easier for one family to seek out, then I'll be happy. He was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white mechanic. As the title of the film indicates, the events of the film take place on Long Island, New York, where in April of 1992, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a . How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. Strong Island explores the details of the case, the lives of William Ford and the mechanic, nineteen-year-old Mark P. Reilly, Reilly's claim of self-defense . What do you do when the suffered a stroke the year after his sons killing. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by . Ford again went to the auto shop and was killed. These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. K. F. Watanabe On an April night in 1992, William Ford, Jr., a 24-year-old black man, was shot and killed by Mark Reilly, a white teenager, in Central Islip, Long Island. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. Strong Island, directed by William's younger brother, Yance Ford, is a document of that murder and of the family that fractured in its wake. There's your semi-public life and your private life. The elderly Jewish women in Brooklyn Stream It Or Skip It: 'Love at First Kiss' on Netflix, a Spanish Rom-Com About a Man Gifted with 'Romantic Clairvoyance', Stream It Or Skip It: Tonight Youre Sleeping With Me on Netflix, a Dull, Passionless Polish Rom-Dram, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Disconnect: The Wedding Planner' on Netflix, A Nollywood Rom-Com, Stream It Or Skip It: 'A Sunday Affair' on Netflix, a Lukewarm Nollywood Love-Triangle Drama, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Marlon Wayans: God Loves Me' On HBO Max, Making The Oscars Slap All About Him, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Triangle of Sadness' on Hulu, Ruben Ostlund's Skewering of the Moneyed Elite. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. They were doing everything theyd left behind in black history. Dont talk back; above all, The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to tells us that she didnt like it. We were received as folks being informed that an investigation had to be conducted. She later laments her experience testifying in front of the all-white grand jury as they read books and magazines and chatted and otherwise appeared not to be paying any attention to her testimony. are gripping in everything they say. 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 day he was killed, William Ford, Jr., had been a witness at a