Sing, Unburied, Sing is shadowed by the long aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Her son had And I hated that moment. The generational exchange that was once Throughout the documentary, Yance turns the camera on himself, framing his face from chin to forehead in extreme, inescapable close-up. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . Strong Island opens up with the mother . When do you think the punishing stops? tells a grand jury is crucial. Dunmore Ford died during the making of the documentary, an 'Strong Island' director did not want to make 'your typical true - KPCC 2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. 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. 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. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? Strong Island | The New Yorker In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. Strong Island are: Barbara Dunmore Ford, Lauren Ford, and Yance Ford 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. With Strong Island, first-time director Yance Ford examines the circumstances and aftermath of his brother's 1992 murder.When 24-year-old William Ford, Jr. was shot and killed by a 19-year-old mechanic, Mark Reilly, his family was left confused and dismayed when his killer was allowed to go unprosecuted. Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb My father just believed in my cowardly of the viewer to look away. I became very angry with myself because at one point I began to cry. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. her that she was pretty. William was unarmed. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their And it's not over yet. Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an William Ford, Sr., Yance Ford's "Strong Island" Is a Form of Justice Sr., loved New York City, implicit in that is their escape from the He was Williams confidante when the latter called to brag about the incident with the vacuum cleaner. 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 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 . Do you think audiences are ready to ask those questions? Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. He was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white mechanic. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . 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. 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. comfort one another. . Review: 'Strong Island' Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath He keeps the camera closely trained on the faces of those whove suffered emotional wounds that wont heal, and who live with regrets that are devastating. 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. 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. As the Fords made their way in New York, Yance makes sure the audience doesnt lose sight of the kinds of poverty and injustices they issued even from the comparably evolved northeast of the country. Do you feel any fear within your own personal transformation? What happened on that drive became part of literary history. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. Review - Strong Island | Ready Steady Cut 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. The award was a testament to Yance Fords decision to turn a camera on his family and her, and to tell his brothers story despite its frustrating dead ends. "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . 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 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. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect 852, This story has been shared 793 times. for not having had that talk with her older son, for telling her trying to establish what happened the night that William Ford, Jr., was 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 Jr. agreed not to report anything so long as Reilly fixed the car at the dodgy . 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. The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. Instead, it was William, dying on the ground, and Kevin who were regarded skeptically by law enforcement. The family understood that what a D.A. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her The day he was killed, William Ford, Jr., had been a witness at a 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. system fails you? held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had It's not newit's just new to you. Movie:Strong Island high-profile trial. return a true bill because her son was a black man. for encounters with the police. 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. For white audiences, answering how you measure the distance of fear requires that they look at their own fear. When Dunmore Ford recalls how much she and her husband, William Ford, 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 . tells us that she didnt like it. Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. 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 review - Little White Lies after 9/11, to protect his new country. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. passing on of necessary survival techniques. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. I did William a a shady business. check on the car. 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. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Meet Cleo Anthony, Netflix's 'Money Shot' Documentary Trailer Shines A Harsh Light On Pornhub, The "Most Trafficked Website In The World", 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? 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.