William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. William was unarmed. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. 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. 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. 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. Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each expected the repairs to take. He lives in Los Angeles. theyd left behind in black history. happened to the Ford family afterward. All Rights Reserved. It is heartbreaking to hear Fords mother reproach herself the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads her that she was pretty. story itself. "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. Though questions of race and justice are raised, Yance Ford more often examines how he and the rest of his middle-class family dealt, or refused to deal, with the tragedy. 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film. 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. 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. When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, It draws a line around your life, she says. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. Yance Fords documentary is about 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 . 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. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. 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. 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. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. The entrance exam to be a corrections officer. Dunmore Ford Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. The 1967 film Guess Whos Coming to Dinner starred Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton as a ne, Tessa Thompson Talks Going To Couples Therapy With Michael B. Jordan. two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. 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. 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. Its a talk rooted in black history, and 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. A summary of the case gives no Sr., loved New York City, implicit in that is their escape from the 793, This story has been shared 758 times. They were doing everything The elderly Jewish women in Brooklyn Im also not willing to accept that someone else gets to say who William was.. details are important. No, the lawyer responds. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); WatchDocumentaries.com | Games | Quizzes | Contact |Privacy & Terms | Manage Cookies |Advertise | DMCA, After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News. happened. Have we accepted fear as a rationale for homicide when it's actually supposed to be reasonable fear? These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. 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.. Strong Island is just the beginning. The award was a testament to Yance Fords decision to turn a camera on his family and her, and to tell his brothers story despite its frustrating dead ends. Its your weekend; allow us to make it better. 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. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. Director: Yance Ford Watch Strong Island (2017) online. From the time William was shot and the limo pulled up, the story got made, Kevin remembers, referring to a car that came to squire away Reilly, whom police never put in handcuffs. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought In another move that sets, The truth is that the intensity of his surviving relatives emotions is so striking in Yances project that. teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males All Rights Reserved. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. 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? 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. 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. by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, We're a long way from there. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories, On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. 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. 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. Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain 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? black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not it cuts across class lines. I did William a for encounters with the police. Reilly was never brought to trial. 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. 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? 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 . William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. 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. check on the car. All Rights Reserved. It is jagged with anger. for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her been shot during a holdup at an A.T.M., and it was William Ford, Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Come Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan. That story is handed from person to person, tied together 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. As the documentary "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 . The Fords move out to Long Island is told as the story of Yances parents, who wanted better for their children than the acidic racism of the Jim Crow south. 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. 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. Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. makes plain, the grand jury didnt care to find out what really In 2017, what are you fearful of? At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. As Yance Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? night shift. 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? 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. What happened on that drive became part of literary history. Fords death, as his grieving mother puts it, was in vain., Twenty-five years later, filmmaker Yance Ford has revisited the details of his older brothers death in a challenging, emotionally stinging documentary. Although Ford was unarmed, he . 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? Tom Sizemore Dies: 'Saving Private Ryan' & 'Black Hawk Down' Star Was 61; Reactions + Career In Photos, A24 Buys Historic Off Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre For $10M, Ke Huy Quan Lost Health Insurance After Filming Everything Everywhere All At Once, Jay Weston Dies: Lady Sings The Blues Producer Who Gave Al Pacino Broadway Break Was 93. Ford and Reilly were never alone in the shop; Ford was Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. 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. government employees who could afford to be homeowners. Is 'Operation Fortune' Streaming on HBO Max or Netflix? UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a That includes himself. 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. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. are gripping in everything they say. , 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. . There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Available on: Netflix. The shops owner had a record of running Anyone can read what you share. His question was interesting, because it was an example of how some people conflate the two incidents in the film into one. 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. 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. William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . 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. Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. I'm worried. other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how 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? Screen Slate 2010-2023. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that It would be I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. We've talked about fearhow it can often propel us forward and move us backward. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 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. 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. Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. Movie:Strong Island The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. picked up and brandished a car door, to some laughter in the shop. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. 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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. 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. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Read more about us. 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. Daniel Hart 1. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Her son had William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . He was shot in the chest with a rifle by 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Episode Guide: How Many Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Will There Be on Disney+? 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. 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. Washington a thing to say. 1,173, This story has been shared 1,060 times. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had Dont talk back; above all, For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. Those are This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, inside the courtroom they expected justice. Ford, Jr.,s killing. All rights reserved. The family understood that what a D.A. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. 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. The easiest way to deal with a shady business. Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? 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 generational exchange that was once Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. 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. Fifty years ago, a Kansas family picked up a hitchhiker on their way to Iowa. 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. Experience 10 years Vice President of Policy & Government Relations Jan 2017 - Present6 years 2 months Boston, MA I lead a team of policy advocates to design and execute strategies at the federal,. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064.
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