William Ford had no record and was about to take the All Rights Reserved. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. 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. with when it came to their dealings with black people. determined which questions the white investigators asked in William What to Know About 'The Bachelor' Season 27, Episode 6 Filming Location, Mark Wahlbergs "Checkered Racist Past" Has Fans Questioning Why He Presented 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once' Cast With SAG Award, 'Bon Jovi: Live In New York' Sees Band At The Peak Of Their Powers, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Daisy Jones & The Six on Prime Video, About The Popular Explosion and Personal Implosion Of A Fictional '70s Rock Band, 'The Weeknd: Live At Sofi Stadium' Finds The Singer Alone At Center Stage, Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song Charts Complicated Route From Creation to Mass Acceptance, Disney100 Funko Pops Are Here, And They're Adorable, Stream It Or Skip It: Lyle Lyle Crocodile on Netflix, an Extremely Silly Musical About a Singing Reptile, Stream It Or Skip It: Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank on Prime Video, the Animated Kid-Friendly Version of 'Blazing Saddles' You Didn't Know You Didn't Need, Stream It Or Skip It: True Spirit on Netflix, A Movie Based On The True Story of a Teen's Global Sailing Voyage, How to Stream and Buy the 'Daisy Jones & The Six' 'Aurora' Album Now, 'Daisy Jones & The Six Episode 3 Recap: "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", Shop Amazon's 'Daisy Jones & The Six' Store To Get Looks From The Show, 'Daisy Jones & The Six' Episode 2 Recap: "I'll Take You There", 'Sex/Life' Season 2's 11 Raunchiest Moments, 11 Best New Shows on Netflix: March 2023's Top Upcoming Series to Watch, 'Sex/Life' Season 2 Said Pregnant Women Can Have Sex With Adam Demos, Too, Sex/Life Season 2s Wildest Scene is a Guy Pumping Up His New Prosthetic Penis. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am All rights reserved. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. The There's your semi-public life and your private life. "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? 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. 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. dont run. When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . A summary of the case gives no In 2017, what are you fearful of? skin. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . 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. 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. William was unarmed. Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that 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. 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? Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. 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. 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. , 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. Screen Slate is a guide to moving image culture. own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not 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 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. . The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? return a true bill because her son was a black man. high-profile trial. Im also not willing to accept that someone else gets to say who William was.. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, 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. unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. "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 . Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? Watch Strong Island (2017) online. 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. How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. to speak of it, even to the self. William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. 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. 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. 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. entrance exam to be a corrections officer. after 9/11, to protect his new country. actor Ken Curtis 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. 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. Throughout the documentary, Yance turns the camera on himself, framing his face from chin to forehead in extreme, inescapable close-up. 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. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. 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. Daniel Hart 1. What We Know, The 8 Best Soundbars To Buy In 2023, Per Experts. Review: Strong Island Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/movies/strong-island-review.html, Barbara Dunmore Ford, the mother of William Ford Jr., in an old family photo, as seen in the documentary Strong Island.. 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. Yance Fords documentary is about . 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. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix. cowardly of the viewer to look away. 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. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. 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. I did William a Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. Sing, Unburied, Sing is shadowed by the long aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And it's not over yet. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? That story is handed from person to person, tied together 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. William was unarmed. 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? 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. reckless youth has been revised as a responsibility of black tutelage, 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. Fifty years ago, a Kansas family picked up a hitchhiker on their way to Iowa. William Jr. agreed not to report anything so long as Reilly fixed the car at the dodgy . All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Dunmore Ford When the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. A white assistant district attorney in Brooklyn had 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. All Rights Reserved. 673, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report. been shot during a holdup at an A.T.M., and it was William Ford, The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic When we realize that punishing doesn't work and that justice ought to be about restorationthat the civil institutions of our justice system should work equally for everyone. Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. 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. not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. it cuts across class lines. comfort one another. Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". Movie:Strong Island To Tell the Story That Tells the Trial: Ulises de la Orden on El juicio. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . 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. become frustrated as a customer, forgetting all about inherited white 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. The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. black enclave of Central Islip. 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. 852, This story has been shared 793 times. Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he 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. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. No, the lawyer responds. 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. What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Jeopardy!' 2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. 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. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . Ford was black, Reilly white. 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. 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. 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. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. for encounters with the police. 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. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. event that becomes a part of story. happened to the Ford family afterward. the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. As Yance We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. It's not newit's just new to you. 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. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Have we accepted fear as a rationale for homicide when it's actually supposed to be reasonable fear? It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. government employees who could afford to be homeowners. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. tells a grand jury is crucial. William Ford, Sr., Fords mother, Barbara 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. Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an Dont talk back; above all, His tow truck had hit them two months 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. 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. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. 2,555, This story has been shared 2,297 times. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. 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? Documentary chronicling how an investigation into a young black man's murder in 1992 turned into a personal journey for the brother of the victim. 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. William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? Available on: Netflix. 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. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. 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. physical threat they were. I'm worried. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. 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. It is heartbreaking to hear Fords mother reproach herself call this an irony. 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. "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. 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. As the documentary 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Episode Guide: How Many Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Will There Be on Disney+? This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. We're a long way from there. in his own murder. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. 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. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? happened. 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. 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 . from the last pages of William Ford, Jr.,s journal, and from his We get the feeling that parts of them retreated William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. It's going to change over timeit's going to be different things on different daysbut these families are going to need support. 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.
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