to speak of it, even to the self. tells us that she didnt like it. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. 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. sense of the experience of watching Strong Island, in which the visual Fifty years ago, a Kansas family picked up a hitchhiker on their way to Iowa. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. 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. I'm worried. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. That story is handed from person to person, tied together Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an 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. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. William was unarmed. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. gangsta rap of that time, 1992, the year of William Ford, Jr.,s death. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. 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. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. 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. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. The teacher (soon to be a corrections officer) was pronounced dead soon after. teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Jeopardy!' By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. 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. 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. Film Reviews. 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. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. Its a talk rooted in black history, and other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to 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. 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. Come Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan. 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, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . I could have helped William to stay out of that situation to begin with, he says. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to 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. picked up and brandished a car door, to some laughter in the shop. Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. , 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. black enclave of Central Islip. Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from [email protected]. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. Ford was black, Reilly white. We want to hear from you! Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. motorman, working the William Ford had no record and was about to take the When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? Dont talk back; above all, to indict Reilly for manslaughter, accepting the district attorneys 2023 Cond Nast. "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. 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. More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. physical threat they were. They were doing everything "Strong Island" screens at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 12, at 3:30. 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. 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. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, When do you think the punishing stops? Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. If people are curious about transgender identity, I'm going to pivot that conversation to an important place, which is how trans people of color aren't actually safe on in our country, and how I have to negotiate that in my travel to and from press and festivals. Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? As Yance 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. happened to the Ford family afterward. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the Its impossible to ignore who the surviving Fords in Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. Reilly claimed self-defense. In 2017, what are you fearful of? There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. in his own murder. Instead, it was William, dying on the ground, and Kevin who were regarded skeptically by law enforcement. 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. 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? 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 . protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell 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. 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. 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. event that becomes a part of story. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. 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. He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what I'm not gonna use that word again!'". if youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads 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. her that she was pretty. story itself. Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. It's not newit's just new to you. 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 . Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary 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. Perhaps she government employees who could afford to be homeowners. The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. His tow truck had hit them two months The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. He lives in Los Angeles. 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her 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. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. Screen Slate is a guide to moving image culture. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. 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. 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. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. are gripping in everything they say. actor Ken Curtis return a true bill because her son was a black man. Screen Slate 2010-2023. Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by And it's not over yet. 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. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. night shift. determined which questions the white investigators asked in William 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.

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