An all-white grand jury in Suffolk County declined to indict his killer, who claimed self-defense. The grand jury declined findings that, afraid for his life, he had shot Ford in self-defense. The filmmakers intensive study of the case, the result of a minor dispute, unfolds both the latter-day state of racial relations on Long Island and its historical roots, which emerge in Barbaras account of the family storythe move from Charleston, South Carolina, to Brooklyn, and then to the suburbs. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. King World Productions Inc. 2023 Inside Edition Inc. and CBS interactive Inc., Paramount companies. 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 of Lake Grove, New York. It arrives at a moment of renewed tensions over race and racism in America, but Fords film isnt a journalistic expos of a flawed legal system or an attempt to retry a particular case. . Building from his parents meeting and marriage in 1965, Ford uses intimate interviews alongside joyful family photo album inserts. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his . Yance is more than a witnesshe is a participant in the events of the film, and its elements of pain and guilt arereflected in his grief-stricken, self-interrogating artistry. LWLies 97: The All the Beauty and the Bloodshed issue Out now! Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned Strong Island is a 2017 documentary feature film directed by Yance Ford. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what "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 . [10][11] Inkoo Kang of TheWrap said the film "is a demanding, wrenching watch; an important work. He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were black enclave of Central Islip. The elderly Jewish women in Brooklyn I did William a great disservice raising him the way we did, Barbara says. Because you dont.. A single bullet forever changed the trajectory of the Fords, a middle-class family living on New York's Long Island. Der Film ist eine Chronik der Umstnde, die zum gewaltsamen Tod seines Bruders William zwanzig Jahre zuvor fhrten, welche Auswirkung dessen Mord auf ihn und seine Familie hatten und wie das Rechtssystem in diesem Fall versagte, wodurch der Mrder freigelassen wurde. 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 of Lake Grove, New York. Strong Island amerykasko-duski film dokumentalny z 2017 roku w reyserii . What is the main point of the movie? tells us that she didnt like it. While most have forgotten the case, the Netflix original documentary has now been nominated for an Oscar for best feature-length documentary. Strong Island un filme documental estadounidense-dinamarqus de 2017 dirixido por Yance Ford. Earlier that day, William had appeared as the star witness in a high-profile trial involving the shooting of a white assistant district attorney in Brooklyn who was shot during a holdup at an ATM. black people is to ignore them; the easiest way to cope with pain is not The Hollywood Reporter called the documentary absorbing and thought provoking and The New Yorker called it a brave, revealing film., Tagged with: Central Islip crime Law Oscar Strong Island William Ford Yance Ford. The effort aims to guide and certify minority, women and disabled veteran union members seeking to launch their own businesses. for encounters with the police. 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' 2017 In 1992, William Ford was shot dead in New York by Mark P. Reilly, a white 19-year-old mechanic, following a minor argument. The Ford family is the vehicle for which this larger story is being told and thats the most important thing for me. After that exchange, William saw the man who had followed his mother and girlfriend home, stepped around a corner to speak to him, and was shot in the chest by Reilly, Yance said. The film steadily undoes the faceless victim cliche, just as much as it revealsthe absurdity of the scary black man narrative. become frustrated as a customer, forgetting all about inherited white I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim., No officer spoke to me, Barbara Dunmore Ford says in the documentary. But Im also not willing to allow someone else to get to say who William was. Instead, we see the real man, sketched through diary entries, photos, anecdotes and even surprising accounts of personal heroism. The women said they had been disrespected and followed home by an employee of the garage. ", Watch: Selena Gomez Has a Message for Teens Watching Netflix's '13 Reasons Why', Aristocrat Constance Marten and Sex-Offender Mark Gordon's Missing Baby Found Dead in Countryside, Cops Say, GOP Legislator Introduces Bill That Would Eliminate Florida's Democratic Party, Florida Student, 17, Who Attacked Teacher to Be Tried as Adult, Woman Convicted in Connection to Lady Gaga Dognapping Sues Singer for $500,000 Reward Money, 5 Ballet Dancers Seriously Injured in California Hit-and-Run Car Crash Strive to Heal to Return to the Stage, 17-Year-Old Michigan Boy Slain by 13-Year-Old and 14-Year-Old Who He Offered Ride Home on Cold Night: Police. Ford usedthis pain to fuel a film, Strong Island, about his brothers life and death and the events that followed. William was black and unarmed. passing on of necessary survival techniques. In his documentary Strong Island, Ford offers a remarkable, incisive examination of his own family history, harnessing a long-gestating grief and channelling it into an emotionally draining but vital piece of work. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Does your business plan to expand its workforce this year? Moving social commentary is undermined by director Marc Silvers storytelling insufficiencies. It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . Those are William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. 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 2023 Cond Nast. We get the feeling that parts of them retreated This film documents the April 1992 murder of Yance Ford's brother William Ford, 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. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, The children Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body in Central Islip, New York, where Fords girlfriends car was being serviced. in his own murder. 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. Yance reconstructs the story in his own words, and in interviews with his mother, Barbara (a retired high-school principal), his sister, and Williams friends, including one who was present at the scene of the killing. Its a conclusion that may strike some as a typical liberal agenda, Ford acknowledges in a recent interview, but he adds, Suspend your belief that you already know this story. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford. Ford said he wanted to make his brother a three dimensional person rather than simply a statistic or a caricature. Strong Island is a 2017 true-crime documentary on the case of William Ford and directed by Ford's brother Yance. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at . But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. What happened Barbara Ford? Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect There had been tension between the Fords and Reillys repair shop after a tow truck from the business hit a car belonging to Williams girlfriend. Reilly, who is white, was arrested for manslaughter. The shops owner had a record of running Its a talk rooted in black history, and The easiest way to deal with . A single bullet forever changed the trajectory of the Fords, a middle-class family living on New Yorks Long Island. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. experience gave her a love of teaching. 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. As Yance grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. In the documentary, Ford says that in his mind, he sees that killer in shades of many strangers faces. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. Later in the day, Reillys tow truck had hit and damaged Fords car. All rights reserved. That includes himself. Late on a spring evening in 1992, in the parking lot of a Long Island body shop, a 24-year-old man named William Ford was shot dead by a 19-year old mechanic, Mark Riley. Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. He stumbled out of the garage, falling into the arms of his friend, Kevin, who was there with him, and he died after being flown to Stony Brook University Hospital, the brother said. If your answer is jail, or parole, then theres only one way to explain it.. William Ford had no record and was about to take the 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. , 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. Facebook gives people the power to. He had gone to Reilly's Long Island. 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. Biography. Fords mother, Barbara Reilly said he would fix the car,so long as a police report wasnt filed. 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. 2018, 120 minutes. Respectful attention must be paid, because grief is in the room. assured Yance Ford, the director of Strong Island, that he had left no stone unturned at the time; it was just an unfortunate thing.. But he quickly went from victim to attacker in Reillys account, and from victim to suspect in the way police handled the case. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford. real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black For me, its not so much about either, Ford replied. 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. Yance Ford tells his brothers and his familys story in a documentary nominated for an Oscar. Judging by the reaction to the film, Yancey Ford has succeeded in showing his brothers humanity, a potential injustice and how its at least possible that an innocent man was killed and deprived of the chance to determine a shooters guilt through a trial. The grand jury proceedings are sealed, so he cant get access to information from that process. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. in this film. A summary of the case gives no I will die believing that they didnt care because my son was a young man of color. The awards will be announcedMarch 4, potentially shining an even brighter spotlight on the case, the story and the film. Strong Island is an American 2017 true-crime documentary film directed by Yance Ford.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. 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