Dunmore Ford died during the making of the documentary, an More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and 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. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. . It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. William Ford had no record and was about to take the Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or We're a long way from there. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. 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. He died before Yance This story has been shared 3,511 times. 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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. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. Those are Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. It's not newit's just new to you. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Her father died of an asthma Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect We want to hear from you! not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had 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. means that she hadnt warned him about what white people could get away City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed experience gave her a love of teaching. In all its glory, Strong Island is as intimate as documentaries get. 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 . 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. 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. All rights reserved. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. community. It is heartbreaking to hear Fords mother reproach herself Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth 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. are gripping in everything they say. 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Yance Fords documentary is about Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. 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. makes plain, the grand jury didnt care to find out what really There's not a rhetorical question in the film. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. William Ford, Sr., if they didnt file a police report. 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. All Rights Reserved. 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. 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. Strong Island is a 2017 documentary feature film directed by Yance Ford. event that becomes a part of story. The grand jury declined 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. 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. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. for encounters with the police. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. after 9/11, to protect his new country. 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. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. 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. For ten years Ford was privileged to work as Series Producer for the PBS showcase POV and where his curatorial work helped garner more than 16 Emmy nominations. a shady business. tells a grand jury is crucial. 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. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and physical threat they were. in his own murder. Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? 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. 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. check on the car. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her We depend on your memberships and donations. "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. . picked up and brandished a car door, to some laughter in the shop. Daniel Hart 1. These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, The Hottest Movie Sex Scenes, Ever (NSFW), The Best Part Of Snapchat? I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. Dunmore Ford Ford, a imposingly large former high school football player who had previously come to Reillys auto body shop and allegedly thrown a vacuum cleaner in frustration, was not alive to defend himself. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 852, This story has been shared 793 times. 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. trying to establish what happened the night that William Ford, Jr., was 1,173, This story has been shared 1,060 times. if youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. It would be high-profile trial. 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The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? Ford was black, Reilly white. real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black 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? Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. Ford, Jr.,s killing. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. William was unarmed. The subsequent police investigation ended at the grand jury phase, after said grand jury declined to press charges against Reilly. A Yanceville Films and Louverture Films production, Strong Island was produced by Ford and Joslyn Barnes and was co-produced by Signe Byrge Srensen for Final Cut for Real. Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? sense of the experience of watching Strong Island, in which the visual by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads Photo: Courtesy of Netflix. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . with when it came to their dealings with black people. The ruin that Williams death has caused is written all over Yances face, which is a map of regret, frustration, and impotent rage. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that In 2017, what are you fearful of? 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. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, 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.. Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. 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. All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. Strong Island, which airs on Netflix today, begins with a phone call from the former prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorneys office who handled Williams case. 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. 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. inside the courtroom they expected justice. was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. . These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. 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. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Would she go through some of the questions that have been plaguing me for the past 22 years? asks Yance. 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. 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. A white assistant district attorney in Brooklyn had How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. 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 . Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Strong Island opens up with the mother . 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. Weekend Watch is here for you. 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. What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Jeopardy!' autopsy report. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. details are important. call this an irony. theyd left behind in black history. from the last pages of William Ford, Jr.,s journal, and from his Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. Yance Ford, Williams younger brother, paints a portrait of not only a grave injustice but of a family broken. 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. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. 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, 2017. . 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. 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. The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. . 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Strong Island is just the beginning. 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. the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his 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. 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. 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. to indict Reilly for manslaughter, accepting the district attorneys 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. mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were A summary of the case gives no Is 'Operation Fortune' Streaming on HBO Max or Netflix? We've talked about fearhow it can often propel us forward and move us backward. 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. I did William a 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? 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. 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.. When do you think the punishing stops? I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. unwilling to accept that someone else gets to say who Williams was. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their 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. 3,511, This story has been shared 2,623 times. although the property taxes were high. The family understood that what a D.A. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. 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. On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . 793, This story has been shared 758 times. Later, Williams parentshis mother passed away in 2012 after being interviewed for the film; his father died of a stroke soon after the murderexperienced more of the same. 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. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. gangsta rap of that time, 1992, the year of William Ford, Jr.,s death. He lives in Los Angeles. The film is a form of justice. 1,393, This story has been shared 1,173 times. . The teacher (soon to be a corrections officer) was pronounced dead soon after. 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. Since Trayvon Martins killing, we have become familiar with the Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. tells us that she didnt like it. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 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. narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. happened to the Ford family afterward. Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. black enclave of Central Islip. suffered a stroke the year after his sons killing. How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? 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. 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Episode Guide: How Many Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Will There Be on Disney+? shielded the white youth immediately, never doubting his testimony that And it's not over yet. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. After an argument over the delays, With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. 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. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. 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. 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. dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not Have we accepted fear as a rationale for homicide when it's actually supposed to be reasonable fear? 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. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage Screen Slate 2010-2023. Yance Ford, who is transgender, is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award, a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, a Sundance Documentary Film Program Fellowship, and was among Filmmaker Magazines 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2011. actor Ken Curtis 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. What happened on that drive became part of literary history. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast.