2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. entrance exam to be a corrections officer. 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.. means that she hadnt warned him about what white people could get away Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online 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. 'Strong Island,' about 1992 LI killing, coming to Netflix Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that Strong Island: Yance Ford's Documentary Brings a Long-Lost - Vogue His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. The children night shift. he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. . shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that My gender identity has been something that's been known to me since the day I was born. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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. Netflix Acquires Yance Ford'S Strong Island The subsequent police investigation ended at the grand jury phase, after said grand jury declined to press charges against Reilly. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. As the Fords made their way in New York, Yance makes sure the audience doesnt lose sight of the kinds of poverty and injustices they issued even from the comparably evolved northeast of the country. check on the car. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth Filmmaker Yance Ford Explores Injustice With His Moving - Essence 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. 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. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. tells a grand jury is crucial. 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. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. 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. William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . 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. other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how 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. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. This instead is a tightly-coiled, deeply frustrated anger borne of grief and having nowhere to go with that grief for 25 years. 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 . My sister is my best friend. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought theyd left behind in black history. 2,555, This story has been shared 2,297 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. with when it came to their dealings with black people. . Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am That includes himself. testimony of black parents concerning the talk they must have with their This is interwoven with the history of Fords family told through photographs, detailing roots in the Jim Crow South and his parents courtship and the eventual pursuit and dissolution of the American dream in the red-lined Long Island neighborhood wherein Ford grew up and William was murdered. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. 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. In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute over a repair and confronted Mr. Reilly about an insult that was said to have been made earlier to Mr. Fords mother. And I hated that moment. 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's Yance Ford: 'I have no interest in giving my brother's 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? I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. The easiest way to deal with Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. physical threat they were. 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. 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. 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. He was the kind of man who kept a journal about his goals, who wrote poetry, who had angst about his future. 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Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he was a mix of overwhelmed and composed. 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. He lives in Los Angeles. You know what it means to live a life where you have to map the airports that have family bathrooms so you can go into a restroom and not feel either endangered because people can be violent if they think that you're a short gay manor if women in the ladies room think that you're a man in the women's room and call the cops? if youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should 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. For the past ten years, director Yance Ford has been investigating his family's story and the events that unfurled following his brother's murder. City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed Since Trayvon Martins killing, we have become familiar with the the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. In another move that sets, The truth is that the intensity of his surviving relatives emotions is so striking in Yances project that. How a White Kid Escaped Punishment After Killing a Black Man - Vice sense of the experience of watching Strong Island, in which the visual tells us that she didnt like it. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Strong Island are: Barbara Dunmore Ford, Lauren Ford, and Yance Ford protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell 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. It's not newit's just new to you. Strong Island (film) - Wikipedia actor Ken Curtis A summary of the case gives no Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. for encounters with the police. 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. 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. You don't like being the focus of the conversation. 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. 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. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. dont run. 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. We've Heard This Story Before: Yance Ford on "Strong Island" When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. event that becomes a part of story. 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.. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? There's your semi-public life and your private life. He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. Review: 'Strong Island' Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath Watch Strong Island (2017) online. 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. narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the 'Strong Island' is a thought-provoking documentary about race, family Screen Slate 2010-2023. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. her that she was pretty. "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on Anyone can read what you share. Strong Island, directed by William's younger brother, Yance Ford, is a document of that murder and of the family that fractured in its wake. 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. 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. Ford is also an architectural welder, and while at Modern Art Foundry he helped assemble the sculpture "Maman" by Louise Bourgeoisthe series of three spiders exhibited at Rockefeller Center, and now on permanent display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. , 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. "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. Strong Island 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. 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. "Strong Island": A family's navigation between loss and injustice - Salon Dunmore Ford Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. 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. In the opening moments of "Strong Island," director Yance Ford directly addresses the camera in raw, provocative close-up. All Rights Reserved. story itself. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. 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. In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. It is heartbreaking to hear Fords mother reproach herself Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb 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. A white assistant district attorney in Brooklyn had No, the lawyer responds. Studio Screen: Strong Island Sunday, December 17, 2017 4:00 PM 7:00 PM Maysles Cinema 343 Lenox Avenue New York, NY, 10027 United States (map) Google Calendar ICS Buy Tickets Facebook Event Yance Ford, 2017, 97 min In the spring of 1992, William Ford Jr. was murdered by a young white mechanic named Mark Reilly. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Do you think audiences are ready to ask those questions? Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? 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. Yance Ford's "Strong Island" Is a Form of Justice 'Strong Island' doc takes a personal look at LI killing, aftermath 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.