The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . high-profile trial. "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. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. He lives in Los Angeles. Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or event that becomes a part of story. A summary of the case gives no eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage 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. physical threat they were. 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. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. 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. 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. to speak of it, even to the self. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. It was like all the sound had left the world., It calls to mind a line in Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Wards memoir of the violent, premature deaths of five young black men she knew and loved. Ford was black, Reilly white. 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. Strong Island (2017) | Watch Free Documentaries Online 2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. 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. 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. 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. had been neighborly; for her, Islip was moving back into a segregated findings that, afraid for his life, he had shot Ford in self-defense. 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. Although Ford was unarmed, he . When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, motorman, working the Perhaps she 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. segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. 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. The generational exchange that was once He was Williams confidante when the latter called to brag about the incident with the vacuum cleaner. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. Weekend Watch is here for you. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. Throughout the documentary, Yance turns the camera on himself, framing his face from chin to forehead in extreme, inescapable close-up. 'Strong Island': Doc Explores A Mysterious Murder [Review] Review: 'Strong Island' Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Jeopardy!' There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. 'Strong Island' doc takes a personal look at LI killing, aftermath At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. 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. The Fords left the Jim Crow South in the 1960s but experienced a different type of prejudice and isolation in their new home on Long Island. 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. 673, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their 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. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. 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. 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. Yance Fords documentary is about There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. 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. I'm worried. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. 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. Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned Studio Screen: Strong Island maysles documentary center Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? Netflix's Strong Island: What happened to Mark Reilly - Cosmopolitan The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. in his own murder. Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb According to them, no crime had been committed. Strong Island review - Little White Lies He wanted to get his family out of the city, and The shops owner had a record of running 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. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. 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. We're a long way from there. 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. Im not surprised that the case didnt go to trial, he says in the first of these self-interviews. tells a grand jury is crucial. expected the repairs to take. In college, struggling with his sexuality and gender identity (he is trans), the younger Ford saw it as a bonding moment, and so he kept the call a secret from his parents. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. night shift. to indict Reilly for manslaughter, accepting the district attorneys Sam Fragoso is the host of Talk Easy, a weekly podcast of conversations with filmmakers, writers, musicians, journalists, and, once, his mother. 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. 'Strong Island' Will Make You Furious, Which You Should Be Is 'Operation Fortune' Streaming on HBO Max or Netflix? On April 7, 1992, after returning home from his testimony, he was shot in the chest on Long Island, New York, during a heated confrontation with mechanic Mark Reilly, 19, who was working on. 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. 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. 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 story itself. When the data is really there to substantiate the claims of mistreatment and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for decades. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? 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? protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell actor Ken Curtis "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 . Director: Yance Ford I think we're going to see a lot of resistance to any rollbacks by DOJ to criminal justice reform, and I hope that Strong Island provides some affirmation to families like Tamir Rice's mom and Trayvon Martin's parents. the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. 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. was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. testimony of black parents concerning the talk they must have with their "Strong Island": A family's navigation between loss and injustice - Salon . 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. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to Oscar-nominated documentary Strong Island chronicles how an investigation into a young black mans murder in 1992 turned into a personal journey for the brother of the victim, filmmaker Yance Ford. Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. Reilly claimed self-defense. And I hated that moment. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? In all its glory, Strong Island is as intimate as documentaries get. tells us that she didnt like it. reckless youth has been revised as a responsibility of black tutelage, a Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. 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. 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. 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. Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth 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. 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.. Daniel Hart 1. 2023 Cond Nast. In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. A white assistant district attorney in Brooklyn had 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. skin. In January,Strong Island won the Sundance Film Festival special jury award for storytelling, with Netflix acquiring the film soon after. 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. Are we interrogating reasonable fear enough? community. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, There's your semi-public life and your private life. 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. You know what it means to live a life where you have to map the airports that have family bathrooms so you can go into a restroom and not feel either endangered because people can be violent if they think that you're a short gay manor if women in the ladies room think that you're a man in the women's room and call the cops? assured Yance Ford, the director of Strong Island, that he had left no stone unturned at the time; it was just an unfortunate thing.. . comfort one another. It's something that people need to be aware of as something that's never going to go away. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought Her father died of an asthma There is no hint of Rodney King or the 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. Dunmore Ford His question was interesting, because it was an example of how some people conflate the two incidents in the film into one. Since Trayvon Martins killing, we have become familiar with the 852, This story has been shared 793 times. We depend on your memberships and donations. Washington a thing to say. How a White Kid Escaped Punishment After Killing a Black Man - Vice Do you think audiences are ready to ask those questions? if youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should All rights reserved. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. All Rights Reserved. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. Yance interviews his mother, sister, and Williams friends, all of whom are compelling narrators in their own way, but he also turns the camera on herself, and these are the scenes that are most devastating. Cinematographers & Cameras: Insights Into "The Crown," "Strong Island Reilly was never brought to trial. Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. inside themselves, away from family connection. As Yance 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 An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not 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 disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. 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. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. Watch Strong Island (2017) online. Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". theyd left behind in black history. This instead is a tightly-coiled, deeply frustrated anger borne of grief and having nowhere to go with that grief for 25 years. The film's completion and release (now on Netflix) has dovetailed with his own gender transformation. These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic if they didnt file a police report. I'm afraid that our civil society is being torn apart bit by bitand not just by tweets and ridiculous statements about good people on both sides. 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. Review - Strong Island | Ready Steady Cut Strong Island 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. 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. 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. All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. Im also not willing to accept that someone else gets to say who William was.. 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. He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. Those are Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am Strong Island opens up with the mother . 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? 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 Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee - Refinery29 It would be an insult to system fails you? Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. 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. . probably get up and go. Racism is character assassination. 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. 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. They were doing everything 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. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by 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. Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. Film Reviews. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. been shot during a holdup at an A.T.M., and it was William Ford, become frustrated as a customer, forgetting all about inherited white Mark Reilly, a young white man. 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 | Screen Slate