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? gangsta rap of that time, 1992, the year of William Ford, Jr.,s death. What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. 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. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. 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. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. . become frustrated as a customer, forgetting all about inherited white For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. Sing, Unburied, Sing is shadowed by the long aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? comfort one another. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? government employees who could afford to be homeowners. the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. 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. Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned Strong Island opens up with the mother . Its a talk rooted in black history, and 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. His friend Kevin Myers, who was outside the body His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film. We get the feeling that parts of them retreated 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. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. 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. by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads 'Strong Island' Will Make You Furious, Which You Should Be 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. story itself. Cinematographers & Cameras: Insights Into "The Crown," "Strong Island In 2017, what are you fearful of? 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. William was unarmed. I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. There's your semi-public life and your private life. "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. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he Mark Reilly, a young white man. 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. night shift. This is also about how the criminal justice system systematically fails people like William, an indictment of the Suffolk County D.A.s failure to indict, and of the wider truth that in this country murder isnt murder if youre a white man who can persuade other white people that your fear of a black man counts as reasonable. Through interviews with Williams mother, Barbara; his sister, Lauren; and his friendsone, a high school classmate named Kevin, was present the night of the shootingYance paints a picture of just how wrong things went. 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. Netflix Nabs Yance Ford's 'Strong Island'; Sundance - Deadline actor Ken Curtis I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. autopsy report. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. All Rights Reserved. He lives in Los Angeles. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. It draws a line around your life, she says. in his own murder. Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their Documentary about LI killing up for Oscar - Long Island Business News It would be Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. Sr., loved New York City, implicit in that is their escape from the Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. 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. Reilly had I did William a not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had We've talked about fearhow it can often propel us forward and move us backward. 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 the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. . That includes himself. There is no hint of Rodney King or the two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males 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. 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. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care A summary of the case gives no high-profile trial. 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. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . Sam Fragoso is the host of Talk Easy, a weekly podcast of conversations with filmmakers, writers, musicians, journalists, and, once, his mother. 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. And I hated that moment. tells us that she didnt like it. My sister is my best friend. In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. physical threat they were. Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. 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. William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online 'Strong Island': Doc Explores A Mysterious Murder [Review] segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. passing on of necessary survival techniques. after 9/11, to protect his new country. 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. unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. He died before Yance 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. 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. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. Yance Fords documentary is about It's not newit's just new to you. before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage 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. 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. 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. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. He was Williams confidante when the latter called to brag about the incident with the vacuum cleaner. All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office "Strong Island" screens at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 12, at 3:30. 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. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. 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. 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 . 'Strong Island' Recounts Slaying of Director's Unarmed Brother entrance exam to be a corrections officer. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. Screen Slate 2010-2023. it cuts across class lines. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. We want to hear from you! 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. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". 2,555, This story has been shared 2,297 times. Yance's journey (I can use it) has been a long one. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. 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. That's the thing that's going to be tough for people. . 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. "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. Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or happened to the Ford family afterward. 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. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. 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. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, 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. Movie:Strong Island Im not surprised that the case didnt go to trial, he says in the first of these self-interviews. 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. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. 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. other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that 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. Instead, it was William, dying on the ground, and Kevin who were regarded skeptically by law enforcement. Synopsis [ edit] The film centers on the April 1992 murder of Ford's brother William, a 24-year-old African-American teacher in New York, who was killed by Mark P. Reilly, a 19-year-old white chop shop mechanic. I'm worried. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. Those are Since Trayvon Martins killing, we have become familiar with the But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. 2023 Cond Nast. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. community. As Yance Anyone can read what you share. 758, This story has been shared 673 times. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. 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. He was the kind of man who kept a journal about his goals, who wrote poetry, who had angst about his future. I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? details are important. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. 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. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Dunmore Ford died during the making of the documentary, an Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb 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. Ford, Jr.,s killing. Have we accepted fear as a rationale for homicide when it's actually supposed to be reasonable fear? When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. Review: 'Strong Island' Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. The film is a form of justice. "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . All Rights Reserved. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. 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? 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. When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? 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 . City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed 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. happened. 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. 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.. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. , 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. Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. After an argument over the delays, There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. Come Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan. "Strong Island": A family's navigation between loss and injustice - Salon The Backstory of Netflix's Strong Island Documentary - Peoplemag We then see Yance get decades-old information from a police officer after literally years of trying in vain to get any information about the investigation out of the authorities who says that the earlier altercation was indeed a big part of the reason why the grand jury thought Reilly was acting in self-defense. 793, This story has been shared 758 times. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. theyd left behind in black history. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect The great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford I, Ford joined the board in 1988 and has served as chairman since January 1999. Who married John Ford's daughter? 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. This story has been shared 3,511 times. held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had 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. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Mark Valentines Day With Commitment Tattoos, Heres Everything Coming to Netflix in March 2023, 17 Oscar-Nominated Netflix Films to Watch in Honor of Awards Season, 8 Skin-Care Dos And Donts According to an A-List Facialist, Meet Etienne Fleurquin, the Danish Model Who Was a Saint Laurent Exclusive. Although Ford was unarmed, he . 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.