In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story..
Netflix Acquires Yance Ford'S Strong Island All rights reserved. William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . 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.. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. The generational exchange that was once inside the courtroom they expected justice. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. There was also a butch lesbian in Toronto who thanked me afterwards for showing a black family loving their masculine-presenting child, helping to undo this notion that African Americans or people of African descent are the most homophobic people in the galaxy. It is heartbreaking to hear Fords mother reproach herself "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. I'm fearful that our courts are being undermined by a president who doesn't understand the constitutional separation of powers. 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. black enclave of Central Islip.
The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. reckless youth has been revised as a responsibility of black tutelage, a 758, This story has been shared 673 times. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. 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. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. 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. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. 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. On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old. 793, This story has been shared 758 times. Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on
Strong Island: Yance Ford's Documentary Brings a Long-Lost - Vogue There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. 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. 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. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. Ford was black, Reilly white. in his own murder. Yance Fords documentary is about When Creed first premiered in 2015, the world had no idea how big it would become; after all, it was just, Rocky Balboas iconic ascent up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art out of breath and in gray joggers as Eye of the Tiger blares in the, Spoilers ahead. Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. theyd left behind in black history. 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. return a true bill because her son was a black man. There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. 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. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Strong Island Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. resentment of black anger.
Strong Island (Film) - TV Tropes Watch Strong Island (2017) online. 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. system fails you? 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. 2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. A summary of the case gives no 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. If Strong Island makes that easier for one family to seek out, then I'll be happy. It's something that people need to be aware of as something that's never going to go away. 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. Respectful attention must be paid, because grief is in the room. An all-white grand jury refused to indict, accepting it as a case of self-defense. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. are gripping in everything they say. determined which questions the white investigators asked in William
Documentary about LI killing up for Oscar - Long Island Business News Mark Reilly, a young white man.
Strong Island (film) - Wikipedia There is no hint of Rodney King or the Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. Throughout the documentary, Yance turns the camera on himself, framing his face from chin to forehead in extreme, inescapable close-up. Read more about us. 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. Its impossible to ignore who the surviving Fords in 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. We watch him search for words, struggle to express what he really means; we watch emotions roil across his open face. himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a Dont talk back; above all, Dunmore Ford died during the making of the documentary, an schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he 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. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. 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. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. with when it came to their dealings with black people. Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. call this an irony. Ad Choices. As the documentary physical threat they were. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had government employees who could afford to be homeowners.
What happened to Mark Reilly Strong Island? - KnowledgeBurrow.com tells a grand jury is crucial. Its a talk rooted in black history, and 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. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. 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 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. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. As Yance . I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Is 'Operation Fortune' Streaming on HBO Max or Netflix? Strong Island opens up with the mother . 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. Yance's journey (I can use it) has been a long one. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. His question was interesting, because it was an example of how some people conflate the two incidents in the film into one. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Available on: Netflix. suffered a stroke the year after his sons killing. Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth become frustrated as a customer, forgetting all about inherited white
How a White Kid Escaped Punishment After Killing a Black Man - Vice 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. 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. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white .
Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online 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 trying to establish what happened the night that William Ford, Jr., was How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? 852, This story has been shared 793 times. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic Reilly had 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. 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.