Strong Island

— This look at the violent death of a black man 25 years ago and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free is made personal by the director whose life was changed by the tragedy. As Yance Ford tries to make sense of his brother’s murder, the audience is drawn into the situation. His family was happy—loving, dedicated, and educated parents living in their suburban Long Island home with three children—but their lives were forever altered when their son, William Jr., was shot during an argument at a local garage. Evidence as to who killed William seemed clear but the grand jury chose not to prosecute. As Ford re-examines the event and interviews family members as well as himself, we’re drawn into the helplessness of their situation at the time. As Ford’s mother talks to the camera and we see her strong moral principles, the color-blind attitude she tried to give her children, and the pain as she confronts her failures, her struggles become all too real. Even Ford, as he comes to see he is in some ways partly responsible for what happened, needs healing that doesn’t seem to come. In the end, we’re changed by this excellent combination of investigative look and personal narrative, both pointing to the systemic indifference America still has for dead blacks. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2017.)

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[2017. 107 min. Directed by Yance Ford.]
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/yance-fords-powerful-cinematic-memoir-strong-island