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. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her 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. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland.
system fails you? 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. As Yance comfort one another. It would be
Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on 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. In 2017, what are you fearful of? When I spoke with Yance by phone, he was a mix of overwhelmed and composed. 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 don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. 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. 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. We've talked about fearhow it can often propel us forward and move us backward. What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. 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. Available on: Netflix. Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. 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. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Mark Valentines Day With Commitment Tattoos, Heres Everything Coming to Netflix in March 2023, 17 Oscar-Nominated Netflix Films to Watch in Honor of Awards Season, 8 Skin-Care Dos And Donts According to an A-List Facialist, Meet Etienne Fleurquin, the Danish Model Who Was a Saint Laurent Exclusive. physical threat they were. On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . 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. 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. 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 Fords hands shuffling the photographs, laying them out, and Yance We get the feeling that parts of them retreated 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. 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. a shady business. 2023 Cond Nast. real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black After an argument over the delays, was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. The film is a form of justice. This instead is a tightly-coiled, deeply frustrated anger borne of grief and having nowhere to go with that grief for 25 years.
Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee - Refinery29 Yance Ford, Williams younger brother, paints a portrait of not only a grave injustice but of a family broken. the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. 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. There's your semi-public life and your private life. It's not newit's just new to you. Washington a thing to say. STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. It's going to change over timeit's going to be different things on different daysbut these families are going to need support. To Tell the Story That Tells the Trial: Ulises de la Orden on El juicio. two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. . William Ford had no record and was about to take the His tow truck had hit them two months of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. Ford was unarmed. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. The easiest way to deal with means that she hadnt warned him about what white people could get away There is no hint of Rodney King or the As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. , 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. 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. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. 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. 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. 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. government employees who could afford to be homeowners. I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage 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. Screen Slate 2010-2023. That story is handed from person to person, tied together In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, 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. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 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.