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. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and 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. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. 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. Mark Reilly, a young white man. There is no hint of Rodney King or the Strong Island is just the beginning. 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. to indict Reilly for manslaughter, accepting the district attorneys The subsequent police investigation ended at the grand jury phase, after said grand jury declined to press charges against Reilly. 1,173, This story has been shared 1,060 times. Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. 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 shadow of race in America. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. The easiest way to deal with His tow truck had hit them two months 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. 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. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix. Daniel Hart 1. 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. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had 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. segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males to speak of it, even to the self. 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. The shops owner had a record of running Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. 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. Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain 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. Reilly was never brought to trial. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. 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. 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 wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. story itself. . . 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. 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"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. Washington a thing to say. 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? 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. . The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. 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. 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 . I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. 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. are gripping in everything they say. The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. 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. 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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. How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. William was unarmed. 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. "Strong Island" screens at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 12, at 3:30. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. 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. 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. night shift. expected the repairs to take. 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. Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. if they didnt file a police report. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. And it's not over yet. mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were Do you think audiences are ready to ask those questions? Ford was unarmed. 3,511, This story has been shared 2,623 times. 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. The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. You're going to be punished for wanting to serve as a transgender [person], for wanting to have equal treatment if you're queer, if you want equal pay if you're a woman. Reilly had Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. My sister is my best friend. The day he was killed, William Ford, Jr., had been a witness at a I did William a The elderly Jewish women in Brooklyn 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? 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. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. 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. Screen Slate 2010-2023. The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. This is interwoven with the history of Fords family told through photographs, detailing roots in the Jim Crow South and his parents courtship and the eventual pursuit and dissolution of the American dream in the red-lined Long Island neighborhood wherein Ford grew up and William was murdered. 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. Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary The grand jury declined We want to hear from you! call this an irony. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . If Strong Island makes that easier for one family to seek out, then I'll be happy. What happened on that drive became part of literary history. 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. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought 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. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that 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. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. 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. after 9/11, to protect his new country. That's the thing that's going to be tough for people. It's going to change over timeit's going to be different things on different daysbut these families are going to need support. real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. 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? Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. This story has been shared 3,511 times. 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. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. Dunmore Ford from the last pages of William Ford, Jr.,s journal, and from his He wanted to get his family out of the city, and In another move that sets, The truth is that the intensity of his surviving relatives emotions is so striking in Yances project that. 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. All rights reserved. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? 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. 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. 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. 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. When do you think the punishing stops? All Rights Reserved. It is jagged with anger. Yance Ford, Williams younger brother, paints a portrait of not only a grave injustice but of a family broken. Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Dunmore Ford S, Welcome to Love Like This?, a romance column where we, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Ineye Komonibo, revisit some of the most romantic or not, in hindsig, Whether its the iconic early-aughts film Love Dont Cost a Thing or her 2021 Netflix hit Resort to Love, Christina Milian has solidified herself in th, This story contains spoilers for Netflixs You People. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what 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. Triangle of Sadness Ending Explained: Does Abigail Kill Yaya? a shady business. 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 . 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. What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film.