Strong Island (2017)
78%RT Audience Score: 56%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
13 wins & 11 nominations total
Strong Island uses one family’s heartbreaking tragedy to offer a sobering picture of racial injustice in modern America
Strong Island is a powerful and emotional documentary that tells the story of a family’s struggle for justice. The film is beautifully shot and expertly edited, with old photographs and interviews woven together to create a moving portrait of loss and grief. While the subject matter is heavy, director Yance Ford manages to infuse the film with moments of hope and resilience. Overall, Strong Island is a must-see for anyone interested in issues of race, justice, and family. Plus, it’s a great reminder that sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones that hit closest to home.
Production Company(ies)
Daiei
Distributor
Netflix
Release Type
Streaming, Streaming (Netflix), Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
Year of Release
2017
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 47m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 2017 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 15, 2017
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Strong Island, documentary, Yance Ford, produced by Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes, Esther Robinson, starring Yance Ford, Harvey Walker, Kevin Myers, Lauren Ford, David White, Ed Boyar, racial injustice, murder, personal journey, family tragedy, systemic racism, justice system, injustice, memoir, Netflix, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Robert Abele, Christy Lemire, Alonso Duralde, Tim Grierson, Rafer Guzman, Leah Greenblatt, Craig Hubert, Matthew Eng, Federico Furzan, Tomas Trussow, Jared Mobarak, Dennis Schwartz, MPAA rating, English, directed by Yance Ford, written by Yance Ford
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joslyn Barnes – Producer
Esther Robinson – Producer
Harvey Walker – Self
Kevin Myers – Self
Lauren Ford – Self
David White – Self
Ed Boyar – Self
Director(s)
Yance Ford
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes, Esther Robinson
Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
13 wins & 11 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (48)
Ford’s building blocks are familiar, but this is no call-to-action film or how-to guide for getting answers and moving on.
July 24, 2018
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
It’s deceptively simple, but it does so much so well. It’s heartbreaking by the end…It’s just really, really powerful.
July 24, 2018 | Rating: 9/10
Christy Lemire
What the Flick?!
TOP CRITIC
Ford is so gifted at taking old photographs and interviews and making a movie that is always beautiful to look at.
July 24, 2018 | Rating: 9.5/10
Alonso Duralde
What the Flick?!
TOP CRITIC
t’s a slightly unfocused work… but its rawness is part of its strength.
October 27, 2017
Tim Grierson
Paste Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A view of systemic racism through a highly personal and artistic lens.
September 21, 2017 | Rating: 3/4
Rafer Guzman
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
Strong builds a poignant, methodical portrait of loss. Telling William’s story won’t bring him back, but at least it will let the world know he lived.
September 16, 2017 | Rating: B+
Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
What Ford is trying to do with Strong Island is make his family’s history visible once again, to give it the clarity and focus that were taken away. Through this process, the wounds of the past might be healed.
February 5, 2020
Craig Hubert
Hyperallergic
One of the rare films to embrace the full literary possibilities of the cinematic medium, in which the images conjured inside the mind can be just as vivid as the ones seen by the naked eye.
May 2, 2019
Matthew Eng
Tribeca Film
I was speechless for a few hours after watching this compelling documentary about injustice and its effect. [Full review in Spanish].
March 17, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
Federico Furzan
Cinelipsis
Yance [uses] the contours of the memoir to finally give his brother the justice that he was denied all those years ago. Therein lies its undeniable power.
October 30, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Tomas Trussow
The Lonely Film Critic
Strong Island becomes a steady stream of revelations perfectly timed to completely transform everything we have just learned.
October 10, 2018 | Rating: 8/10
Jared Mobarak
Jaredmobarak.com
Emotionally gripping.
March 23, 2018 | Rating: B+
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews…
Plot
Examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re-imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Strong Island on Fresh Kernels.
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