Yance's journey (I can use it) has been a long one. We want to hear from you! Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. 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 No, the lawyer responds. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. testimony of black parents concerning the talk they must have with their 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. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. And it's not over yet. Screen Slate is a guide to moving image culture. There's not a rhetorical question in the film. William was unarmed. himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a Netflix Nabs Yance Ford's 'Strong Island'; Sundance - Deadline In Strong Island, Ford chronicles hisfamilys history from the Jim Crow South to the presumed safety of New Yorks middle-class suburbs, where the 1992murder of the directors brother raised deep issues of race, grief, injustice and gun violence. "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. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. The day he was killed, William Ford, Jr., had been a witness at a He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am We've talked about fearhow it can often propel us forward and move us backward. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had What happened on that drive became part of literary history. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. Strong Island: Yance Ford's Documentary Brings a Long-Lost - Vogue In 2017, what are you fearful of? Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. Dunmore Ford What do you do when the 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.. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. 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. 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. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. All Rights Reserved. Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. findings that, afraid for his life, he had shot Ford in self-defense. , 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. 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. 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. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. The generational exchange that was once Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. That story is handed from person to person, tied together 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. "Strong Island": A family's navigation between loss and injustice - Salon 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. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not 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. Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. When the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. physical threat they were. There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . Those are On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. Review - Strong Island | Ready Steady Cut Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. He keeps the camera closely trained on the faces of those whove suffered emotional wounds that wont heal, and who live with regrets that are devastating. '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, 2017. . His friend Kevin Myers, who was outside the body Dont talk back; above all, 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. Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. 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? picked up and brandished a car door, to some laughter in the shop. . Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he "Strong Island" screens at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 12, at 3:30. We get the feeling that parts of them retreated event that becomes a part of story. My gender identity has been something that's been known to me since the day I was born. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and 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 grand jury declined 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. happened to the Ford family afterward. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought When do you think the punishing stops? How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that Sing, Unburied, Sing is shadowed by the long aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Strong Island opens up with the mother . It would be an insult to We're a long way from there. 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. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what 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. real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black night shift. 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. . 'Strong Island,' about 1992 LI killing, coming to Netflix The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. 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. Its a talk rooted in black history, and 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. 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. William Ford had no record and was about to take the I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, Weekend Watch is here for you. if they didnt file a police report. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. probably get up and go. Racism is character assassination. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. The shops owner had a record of running Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. 2023 Cond Nast. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, The film is a form of justice. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. 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. Reilly had brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. 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 . become frustrated as a customer, forgetting all about inherited white dont run. experience gave her a love of teaching. 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. Screen Slate 2010-2023. . 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. My sister is my best friend. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. How a White Kid Escaped Punishment After Killing a Black Man - Vice trying to establish what happened the night that William Ford, Jr., was All Rights Reserved. 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. The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. 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. Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. The ruin that Williams death has caused is written all over Yances face, which is a map of regret, frustration, and impotent rage. 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. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. Yance Ford's "Strong Island" Is a Form of Justice by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads 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. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. 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. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't.

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