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 . 793, This story has been shared 758 times. Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. He lives in Los Angeles. gangsta rap of that time, 1992, the year of William Ford, Jr.,s death. Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. And it's not over yet. After an argument over the delays, He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. 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. dont run. Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned It draws a line around your life, she says. His autopsy report read: The body is that of a well-developed obese black male. What happened on that drive became part of literary history. black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. They were doing everything William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . 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All Rights Reserved. The film will launch globally on Netflix and in limited theatrical release in the fall. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. 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. All Rights Reserved. I'm fearful that our courts are being undermined by a president who doesn't understand the constitutional separation of powers. What happened to Mark Reilly Strong Island? - KnowledgeBurrow.com His tow truck had hit them two months 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. 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 house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. 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. 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. "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 . 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. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic 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. The shops owner had a record of running 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. 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. Yance Ford's "Strong Island" Is a Form of Justice Because I felt that they were going to say, here is another black woman who didnt do her job with her child, and now she wants us to make somebody pay., The filmmaker and his mother both find opportunities to blame themselves for Williams loss (The madness that is my brothers death would drive me mad if I werent able to hold myself accountable for at least a small part of it, Yance explains). Director: Yance Ford Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. Ford was black, Reilly white. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. with when it came to their dealings with black people. The Backstory of Netflix's Strong Island Documentary - Peoplemag makes plain, the grand jury didnt care to find out what really 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. system fails you? "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? 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? inside the courtroom they expected justice. The grand jury declined I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. "Strong Island": A family's navigation between loss and injustice - Salon 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. It's not newit's just new to you. skin. STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. According to them, no crime had been committed. Weekend Watch is here for you. 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. What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Jeopardy!' Netflix's Strong Island: What happened to Mark Reilly - Cosmopolitan 1,393, This story has been shared 1,173 times. Watch Strong Island (2017) online. 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. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect Strong Island | Screen Slate In all its glory, Strong Island is as intimate as documentaries get. story itself. In 2017, what are you fearful of? if they didnt file a police report. When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? 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. 'Strong Island' doc takes a personal look at LI killing, aftermath Instead, it was William, dying on the ground, and Kevin who were regarded skeptically by law enforcement. Strong Island (Film) - TV Tropes UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. 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 . My sister is my best friend. Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her return a true bill because her son was a black man. 'Strong Island' Recounts Slaying of Director's Unarmed Brother focuses on the emotional consequences of this incident for Ford and his family (the victim was Fords brother) and how this deeply personal story intersects with Americas historic apathy to the destruction of black lives. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he was a mix of overwhelmed and composed. Perhaps she 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. Although Ford was unarmed, he . Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . 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. 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 Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. 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 . . attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? 2023 Cond Nast. He died before Yance "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . 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. 'Strong Island' is a thought-provoking documentary about race, family There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? 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? college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. 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. 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. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. 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. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. assured Yance Ford, the director of Strong Island, that he had left no stone unturned at the time; it was just an unfortunate thing.. "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Is 'Operation Fortune' Streaming on HBO Max or Netflix? You don't like being the focus of the conversation. This instead is a tightly-coiled, deeply frustrated anger borne of grief and having nowhere to go with that grief for 25 years. a shady business. it cuts across class lines. 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. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. 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. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. 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. are gripping in everything they say. passing on of necessary survival techniques. 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. There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. 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. On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . We've Heard This Story Before: Yance Ford on "Strong Island" 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. 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.. two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been Yance Ford, Williams younger brother, paints a portrait of not only a grave injustice but of a family broken. 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. 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. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. 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. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. entrance exam to be a corrections officer. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or 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. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". 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. Reilly claimed self-defense. 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. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their Strong Island (2017) directed by Yance Ford - Letterboxd 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. Dunmore Ford And I hated that moment. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. 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. Cinematographers & Cameras: Insights Into "The Crown," "Strong Island findings that, afraid for his life, he had shot Ford in self-defense. My father just believed in my Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Strong Island opens up with the mother . Yance Fords hands shuffling the photographs, laying them out, and Yance The subsequent police investigation ended at the grand jury phase, after said grand jury declined to press charges against Reilly. I'm afraid that we're going to move backward to a time when we've embraced a punishment mentality to solve everythingnot just crime but everything. Since Trayvon Martins killing, we have become familiar with the She wonders how she could have been so wrong. for encounters with the police. testimony of black parents concerning the talk they must have with their Strong Island review - Little White Lies 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. 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. The generational exchange that was once Dont talk back; above all, . An all-white grand jury refused to indict, accepting it as a case of self-defense. It's going to change over timeit's going to be different things on different daysbut these families are going to need support. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. Ford and Reilly were never alone in the shop; Ford was The children What do you do when the It would be Reilly was never brought to trial. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. 758, This story has been shared 673 times. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. suffered a stroke the year after his sons killing. tells a grand jury is crucial. 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, 947, This story has been shared 852 times. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. 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.