after 9/11, to protect his new country. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. community. Twenty-four-year-old teacher William Ford was shot and killed after having an altercation with a white mechanic, and the killer was never charged. 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. the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his , 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. 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. night shift. That includes himself. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought It would be The shops owner had a record of running Screen Slate 2010-2023. Watch Strong Island (2017) online. 'Strong Island' doc takes a personal look at LI killing, aftermath expected the repairs to take. Her son had As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Read more about us. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he Do you think audiences are ready to ask those questions? The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. They were doing everything Nothing comes close to describing how astonishing it is for me, that the world will in some measure come to know my brother., Said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP Original Documentary Programming: Yance Fords intimate retelling of his familys history of love, violence and loss is filtered through such a personal lens that each shot captures the complexity of the films many intersecting threads of race, sexuality, class and gender.. 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. 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. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect 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. Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? Filmmaker Yance Ford Explores Injustice With His Moving - Essence . from the last pages of William Ford, Jr.,s journal, and from his Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. 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? Ford again went to the auto shop and was killed. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories, On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. 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. I'm worried. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Strong Island | International Documentary Association Dunmore Ford died during the making of the documentary, an 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. real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black 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. 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. 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. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. We want to hear from you! We're a long way from there. The effect is intense and elegiac, even as the pace veers toward the overly deliberate, and as Mr. Reilly and some essential witnesses arent interviewed or approached by the filmmaker; no explanation for this omission is given. 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. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. It was like all the sound had left the world., It calls to mind a line in Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Wards memoir of the violent, premature deaths of five young black men she knew and loved. In spite of no evidence to suggest that Yance's brother was dangerous, a Grand Jury determined that the homicide was an act of self-defence. Its impossible to ignore who the surviving Fords in When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. And I hated that moment. 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. How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The elderly Jewish women in Brooklyn Screen Slate is a guide to moving image culture. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. 'Strong Island' director did not want to make 'your typical true - KPCC 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. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. 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 . Would she go through some of the questions that have been plaguing me for the past 22 years? asks Yance. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. 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. Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. 793, This story has been shared 758 times. 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. her that she was pretty. Perhaps she The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. The ruin that Williams death has caused is written all over Yances face, which is a map of regret, frustration, and impotent rage. I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. Daniel Hart 1. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? sense of the experience of watching Strong Island, in which the visual In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, motorman, working the 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. 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. What happened on that drive became part of literary history. 2022 International Documentary Association. had been neighborly; for her, Islip was moving back into a segregated 2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? picked up and brandished a car door, to some laughter in the shop. Her father died of an asthma . This story has been shared 3,511 times. segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Dont talk back; above all, 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. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each reckless youth has been revised as a responsibility of black tutelage, a Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. Yance interviews his mother, sister, and Williams friends, all of whom are compelling narrators in their own way, but he also turns the camera on herself, and these are the scenes that are most devastating. 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. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. autopsy report. Since Trayvon Martins killing, we have become familiar with the In 2017, what are you fearful of? Strong Island | The New Yorker All rights reserved. All Rights Reserved. 'Strong Island': Doc Explores A Mysterious Murder [Review] 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? More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not The generational exchange that was once the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on The film features Danny Glover, Susan Rockefeller, Tony Tabatznik, Michel Merkt and Laura Poitras as executive producers, as well as American Documentary|POV, Danish Film Institute, DR K Denmark. Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. There's your semi-public life and your private life. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. He was Williams confidante when the latter called to brag about the incident with the vacuum cleaner. City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed It draws a line around your life, she says. Strong Island (2017) directed by Yance Ford - Letterboxd for encounters with the police. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . 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. 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. Anyone can read what you share. 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. William Ford, a black man, was shot and killed at the age of 24 by a 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly, at the auto shop where Ford's girlfriend's car was being repaired. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. Review - Strong Island | Ready Steady Cut was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. The day he was killed, William Ford, Jr., had been a witness at a Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee - Refinery29 Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online 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. In all its glory, Strong Island is as intimate as documentaries get. Although Ford was unarmed, he . Strong Island's Yance Ford: 'I have no interest in giving my brother's A white assistant district attorney in Brooklyn had 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 unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and There is no hint of Rodney King or the 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? a shady business. in this film. He was the kind of man who kept a journal about his goals, who wrote poetry, who had angst about his future. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. The Fords move out to Long Island is told as the story of Yances parents, who wanted better for their children than the acidic racism of the Jim Crow south. disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. 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. probably get up and go. Racism is character assassination. 3,511, This story has been shared 2,623 times. 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. The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. When the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. Sam Fragoso is the host of Talk Easy, a weekly podcast of conversations with filmmakers, writers, musicians, journalists, and, once, his mother. 2023 Cond Nast. Review: 'Strong Island' Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath Im not surprised that the case didnt go to trial, he says in the first of these self-interviews. When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? comfort one another. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had To Tell the Story That Tells the Trial: Ulises de la Orden on El juicio. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. He wanted to get his family out of the city, and 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. Reilly had He died before Yance I'm not gonna use that word again!'". Studio Screen: Strong Island maysles documentary center