TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. 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. All Rights Reserved. The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. A summary of the case gives no Utilizing a creative mixture of traditional and non-traditional documentary approaches, Ford also investigates what really happened the night his brother died, a question that is foregrounded as significant for personal reasons yet ultimately not the entire point. the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his 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. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. 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. 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. Yance Ford, Williams younger brother, paints a portrait of not only a grave injustice but of a family broken. , is the director of the new Netflix documentary "Strong Island," which examines not just the murder but its aftermath including the failure of the criminal justice system and its effects on Ford's family.. Yance Ford was a 19-year-old art student when his brother was killed. 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. 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. other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how passing on of necessary survival techniques. That's the thing that's going to be tough for people. in this film. if they didnt file a police report. Do you think audiences are ready to ask those questions? 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. 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. How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. with when it came to their dealings with black people. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care What do you do when the The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. resentment of black anger. 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. William Ford, Sr., The grand jury declined a shady business. black enclave of Central Islip. For ten years Ford was privileged to work as Series Producer for the PBS showcase POV and where his curatorial work helped garner more than 16 Emmy nominations. This story has been shared 3,511 times. 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. cowardly of the viewer to look away. 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. 947, This story has been shared 852 times. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . Daniel Hart 1. 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. community. Strong Island opens up with the mother . 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. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. 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. If you need social assistance, they're going to drug test you and make you work x amount of hours a week, and it doesn't matter if you don't have childcare. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. Dont talk back; above all, Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. 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. 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. 3,511, This story has been shared 2,623 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. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that inside themselves, away from family connection. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. 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What We Know, The 8 Best Soundbars To Buy In 2023, Per Experts. . 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. 793, This story has been shared 758 times. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. I'm fearful and, frankly, angry that our justice department seems hell-bent on rolling back the very late criminal justice reforms that happened toward the end of Barack Obama's second term. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The day he was killed, William Ford, Jr., had been a witness at a It would be an insult to 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. by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am are gripping in everything they say. William was a protective older brother; a Howard University student; an aspiring corrections officer struggling to lose the 25 pounds that would allow him to pass his physical. When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? . 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. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". 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. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? if youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. Reilly had for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her Ad Choices. 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. Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth in his own murder. The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? 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. And I hated that moment. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. although the property taxes were high. 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. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . findings that, afraid for his life, he had shot Ford in self-defense. After an argument over the delays, had been neighborly; for her, Islip was moving back into a segregated These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, The Hottest Movie Sex Scenes, Ever (NSFW), The Best Part Of Snapchat? He was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white mechanic. City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. 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. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what When do you think the punishing stops? two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned . 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. by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. STRONG ISLAND chronicles the arc of the Ford family; Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children, and how their lives have been shaped by the enduring shadow of race in America. 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. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. All rights reserved. You don't like being the focus of the conversation. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. Ford was unarmed. theyd left behind in black history. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. When the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? And if we're going to focus on me as a transgender African American, then we need to extrapolate from the violence that's perpetrated against trans women of color especially: How many of those murders have gone unsolved? Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". "Strong Island" tells the story of William Ford Jr., a 24-year-old African-American who was shot by Mark Reilly, a white car mechanic, during a dispute over repairs. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Her son had real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, And What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? 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. In a week where a reality TV favourite finally addressed its known colorism problem, Netflix UK dropped The Strays (February 22) a psycholo, Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi, This story contains spoilers for Ant-Man: Quantumania. 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. narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the 2022 International Documentary Association. When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Strong Island, Yance Fords documentary that premiered at Sundance and is set to screen Sunday at New Yorks New Directors/New Films fest. Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. 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. 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. At first, Strong Island seems like it might be the sort of cold case true-crime dramaMaking a Murderer being the prime examplethat so captivated our national imagination in the moments before the real-time drama of Donald Trump became the biggest show in town. Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. As the documentary My father just believed in my Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that 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. himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a All Rights Reserved. Strong Island is just the beginning. Ford and Reilly were never alone in the shop; Ford was 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 . Dunmore Ford Have we accepted fear as a rationale for homicide when it's actually supposed to be reasonable fear? Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . actor Ken Curtis Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. A 22-year-old black man, William Ford, was shot and killed by a 19-year-old white man, a mechanic named Mark Reilly, after a verbal altercation. We get the feeling that parts of them retreated It's not newit's just new to you. Reilly was never brought to trial. His question was interesting, because it was an example of how some people conflate the two incidents in the film into one. "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. Read more about us. 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. . Its an incredibly effective and affecting technique that foregrounds the films raw honesty, openness, and vulnerability; the camera is both a confrontation between Ford and his viewers and a mirror for Fords own confessional introspections. night shift. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. Washington a thing to say. 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.

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