community. Her son had I'm fearful that our courts are being undermined by a president who doesn't understand the constitutional separation of powers. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell tells a grand jury is crucial. 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. 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. Film Reviews. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman, serving as executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. All the essentials: top fashion stories, editors picks, and celebrity style. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 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? Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. 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' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. Im also not willing to accept that someone else gets to say who William was.. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Reilly was never brought to trial. 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. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. had been neighborly; for her, Islip was moving back into a segregated 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. 2,623, This story has been shared 2,555 times. "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . There's your semi-public life and your private life. Watch Strong Island (2017) online. His work has appeared in NPR, Vanity Fair, and Playboy. Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. inside the courtroom they expected justice. Reilly claimed self-defense. We're a long way from there. Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary The There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". narrative, put together with subtlety and refinement, unfolds from the disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to 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. 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 . William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . cowardly of the viewer to look away. Every Friday were going to recommend the best of whats new to rent on VOD or stream for free. 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Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. I did William a 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 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. Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Strong Island, Yance Fords documentary that premiered at Sundance and is set to screen Sunday at New Yorks New Directors/New Films fest. eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? William was unarmed. expected the repairs to take. When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to from the last pages of William Ford, Jr.,s journal, and from his Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. Weekend Watch is here for you. after 9/11, to protect his new country. That's the thing that's going to be tough for people. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. VICE: Watching the film again reminded me of how uniquely affecting it is. 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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. 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. Available on: Netflix. Fords mother, Barbara Ford was unarmed, Reilly brandished a rifle, and the teenagerwho had an extensive criminal recordtook one shot at Ford, piercing him in the heart. I became very angry with myself because at one point I began to cry. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. 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. She was implying that the way that the grand jury process and investigation had been handled was problematic. In all its glory, Strong Island is as intimate as documentaries get. suffered a stroke the year after his sons killing. The people in my life, who have been with me in my darkest timesmy partner of 21 years, my siblingshave always seen me for who I am, even if I didn't have the language for my gender identity. 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? own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the 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. 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. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care actor Ken Curtis The ruin that Williams death has caused is written all over Yances face, which is a map of regret, frustration, and impotent rage. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black 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. 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. although the property taxes were high. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not Fords death, as his grieving mother puts it, was in vain., Twenty-five years later, filmmaker Yance Ford has revisited the details of his older brothers death in a challenging, emotionally stinging documentary. Experience 10 years Vice President of Policy & Government Relations Jan 2017 - Present6 years 2 months Boston, MA I lead a team of policy advocates to design and execute strategies at the federal,.