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story itself. 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. The family understood that what a D.A. 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. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. 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. 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? Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Film Reviews. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. "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. 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. entrance exam to be a corrections officer. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. . 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. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. comfort one another. In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. That includes himself. Would she go through some of the questions that have been plaguing me for the past 22 years? asks Yance. inside the courtroom they expected justice. Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. 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. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. As Yance What happened on that drive became part of literary history. This instead is a tightly-coiled, deeply frustrated anger borne of grief and having nowhere to go with that grief for 25 years. UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Ford again went to the auto shop and was killed. 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. I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. it cuts across class lines. A summary of the case gives no check on the car. 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. 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. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. Yance Fords hands shuffling the photographs, laying them out, and Yance His question was interesting, because it was an example of how some people conflate the two incidents in the film into one. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. for encounters with the police. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. His tow truck had hit them two months "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. All rights reserved. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, We're a long way from there. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what dont run. There's your semi-public life and your private life. Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth We get the feeling that parts of them retreated Yances shattered reaction to this that the phone call he had already felt years and years of guilt about was indeed to blame for his brother being denied justice is something you wont soon forget. These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. Yance Fords documentary is about grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. It is heartbreaking to hear Fords mother reproach herself disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. William Ford had no record and was about to take the mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were 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. probably get up and go. Racism is character assassination. William Ford, Sr., It would be 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. happened. 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. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. 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. 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. Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. 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. 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. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. theyd left behind in black history. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. What We Know, The 8 Best Soundbars To Buy In 2023, Per Experts. by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, Triangle of Sadness Ending Explained: Does Abigail Kill Yaya? All Rights Reserved. . "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to actor Ken Curtis Ford was unarmed, Reilly brandished a rifle, and the teenagerwho had an extensive criminal recordtook one shot at Ford, piercing him in the heart. in this film. 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. 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. are gripping in everything they say. Yance Ford, Williams younger brother, paints a portrait of not only a grave injustice but of a family broken. The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. testimony of black parents concerning the talk they must have with their 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. Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. No, the lawyer responds. Fords mother, Barbara Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. 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. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. William was unarmed. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. This story has been shared 3,511 times. Its a talk rooted in black history, and real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black 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. Director: Yance Ford 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. cowardly of the viewer to look away. "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? I'm worried. 2023 Cond Nast. 1,393, This story has been shared 1,173 times. 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. 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. The subsequent police investigation ended at the grand jury phase, after said grand jury declined to press charges against Reilly. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. Dunmore Ford 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. There is no hint of Rodney King or the 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 system fails you? STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . 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.