Documentary about LI killing up for Oscar - Long Island Business News He lives in Los Angeles. 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. Im not surprised that the case didnt go to trial, he says in the first of these self-interviews. The shops owner had a record of running 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. Fords mother, Barbara Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. 1,060, This story has been shared 947 times. 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. 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. More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case 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 investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. 793, This story has been shared 758 times. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, Photo: Courtesy of Netflix. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. black enclave of Central Islip. 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. 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Yance Ford documents not just the murder but the continuing effects of the tragedy and how it tore apart his family. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? 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. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. It would be 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. Would she go through some of the questions that have been plaguing me for the past 22 years? asks Yance. Strong Island | International Documentary Association 3,511, This story has been shared 2,623 times. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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' Will Make You Furious, Which You Should Be 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. Reilly claimed self-defense. Those are As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had 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? William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Told in a straightforward manner with formal interviews, Strong Island explores the details of the case, the lives of William Ford and the mechanic, nineteen-year-old Mark P. Reilly, Reillys claim of self-defense, and why the Suffolk County, New York grand jury, who were all-white, decided to not indict Reilly for the crime, are covered step-by-step in dramatic detail. 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 was unarmed. Reilly was never brought to trial. suffered a stroke the year after his sons killing. tells us that she didnt like it. 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 . to speak of it, even to the self. 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. And I hated that moment. 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. Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. 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. 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. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect A summary of the case gives no Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 2,204, This story has been shared 1,797 times. 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. 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. Strong Island are gripping in everything they say. 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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. He was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white mechanic. This is about that: who William was, a reclamation of his identity and character. In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. It draws a line around your life, she says. Yance's journey (I can use it) has been a long one. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. reckless youth has been revised as a responsibility of black tutelage, a Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford . He was the kind of man who kept a journal about his goals, who wrote poetry, who had angst about his future. 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. . It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. shielded the white youth immediately, never doubting his testimony that We're a long way from there. I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. Movie:Strong Island narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. after 9/11, to protect his new country. Strong Island is just the beginning. Ford and Reilly were never alone in the shop; Ford was probably get up and go. Racism is character assassination. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. 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. K. F. Watanabe 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. 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. 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. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. Respectful attention must be paid, because grief is in the room. William Ford had no record and was about to take the system fails you? 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. "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . 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? autopsy report. Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. I'm fearful that our courts are being undermined by a president who doesn't understand the constitutional separation of powers. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. 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. Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. We want to hear from you! Yance Ford has directed a movie about the death of his brother that distills this kind of frustration into something heartbreaking, but thats what makes it a vital and powerful film. Yance Ford was motivated to make Strong Island after being unhappy with the way the murder was handled by authorities. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. 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. Mark Reilly, a young white man. Ford was black, Reilly white. 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. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. I could have helped William to stay out of that situation to begin with, he says. 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. Strong Island (Film) - TV Tropes This instead is a tightly-coiled, deeply frustrated anger borne of grief and having nowhere to go with that grief for 25 years. Netflix's Strong Island: What happened to Mark Reilly - Cosmopolitan What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. Mark Reilly - Undersecretary & Chief Operating Officer - LinkedIn 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. check on the car. My sister is my best friend. passing on of necessary survival techniques. 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 . Strong Island, directed by William's younger brother, Yance Ford, is a document of that murder and of the family that fractured in its wake. 758, This story has been shared 673 times. Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. How Black Lives Matter Is Resisting Trump. Just talking about my transition and when I "came out" is a bit weird, because we have this expectation that every moment of our lives and realization about ourselves is going to be lived in some public arena. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. 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. 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. 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. Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that The teacher (soon to be a corrections officer) was pronounced dead soon after. "Strong Island" screens at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 12, at 3:30. It is jagged with anger. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. in this film. It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. been shot during a holdup at an A.T.M., and it was William Ford, comfort one another. 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. He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . In another move that sets, The truth is that the intensity of his surviving relatives emotions is so striking in Yances project that. Strong Island's Yance Ford: 'I have no interest in giving my brother's 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. 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. Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males Strong Island (2017) - Strong Island (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. Studio Screen: Strong Island maysles documentary center I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to They were doing everything What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.