Strong Island/NetflixSeThere’s a new contender for Making A Murderer’s true crime crown, and it’s being hailed as a ‘masterpiece’.
The powerful documentary, Strong Island, is a much more personal look at murder than we have come to expect, with filmmaker Yance Ford examining the 1992 murder of his own brother, school teacher William Ford Jr.
Yance looks into the killer’s acquittal, the Ford family’s grief and shockingly, how William became the prime suspect in his own murder, all while exploring issues of race, discrimination and historical injustice.
See Strong Island @ICALondon Friday night then come back Sunday to talk filmmaking w director @yford https://t.co/KZBoyKPOMr
— Yance Ford (@yford) July 20, 2017
24-year-old William was shot dead at an auto-repair shop, after a heated disagreement with a mechanic, 19-year-old Mark Reilly.
Several people witnessed the pair arguing and then entering the garage, before hearing gun shots.
After William’s death, Mark made a self defence plea – despite the fact William had been completely unarmed – and a largely white, grand jury chose not to indict the shooter and the case file remains closed.
Check out the trailer for yourself:
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Strong Island received the Special Jury Award for storytelling at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and is currently enjoying an impressive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
A five star review in The Guardian reads:
One moment Strong Island is an investigation, the next a personal essay in grief: the combination is a complicated form of documentary few could pull off. But that is its strength: audiences can relate on a personal or a political level.
Powerful Documentary ‘ Strong Island’ Comes To Netflix https://t.co/n71FnR0mU5 pic.twitter.com/lIav2E5KPJ
— Monkeys Fight Robots (@monkeys_robots) August 23, 2017
Netflix subscribers can watch Strong Island from 15 September 2017.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.