A Poem for the Mother
Illustration by Tavi Veraldi A Poem for the Mother Who lost her son… In a car crash In a dog fight Amid the dust mines of recessed memories A poem for the agony For the fear For the future Remembering to call her before you go to sleep When the gunshots start pouring When the enemies roll […]
I can’t understand
Both willingly and unwillingly, Yance and so many others have done so much emotional labor to tell us their stories and relive their trauma, all to reveal to us the racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia, and overall hatred that still exists and causes unfathomable pain, and it’s our job and responsibility to pay attention.
The burden of heartbreak
When the lights in “Strong Island” (2017) begin to dim and the credits start to roll, the viewer is left with an echo of a scream ringing intensely in their ears. Director and filmmaker Yance Ford has just spoken with the District Attorney in charge of his brother’s case and learns a story left untold […]
‘Strong Island’: documentary filmmaking as a coming-of-age tale
It’s always the women, the queer, and the blacks. They are the ones who tell stories. They are the ones who dig deep into their families’ histories. They are the ones who try to uncover the truth and make amends with the past so they can live a different future. It’s always people like us—those […]
The contours of fear: a documentary elegy
It is a pessimistic view of life in America, and for Yance Ford and millions of people who look like him, it is a daily reality: living with the fear of being treated as a second-class citizen in school, housing, employment, and the law.
Cinema Femme Documentary Issue — Editor’s Letter
I’ve always loved how documentaries can connect with viewers by taking them through worlds that are not their own. And some documentaries, like Yance Ford’s “Strong Island” (2017), our Issue 3 film focus, demand your attention and you can’t look away. In our third issue, “Strong Island” edition, we feature four personal essays (written by […]