Yance Ford ’94 made Oscars history as the first openly transgender filmmaker nominated for an Academy Award. His film, “Strong Island” was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. (view trailer)
A documentary director from Long Island, Ford’s “Strong Island” focuses on the death of his brother, William Ford, who was shot and killed in 1992. An all-white grand jury did not bring any charges against the white defendant. The film landed a nomination in the Documentary (Feature) category. If Ford wins, he will make history again as the first transgender director to take home the award.
Major: Art
On Campus Activities: Black and Latino Student Union (BLSU), Rainbow Alliance
In an article by NBC’s Channel Four, Ford commented "It's important that people understand that Strong Island is just as much about this claim of reasonable fear and our need to interrogate reasonable fear as it is about my family's grief."
After a year of success, Ford’s directorial debut film goes up against other documentaries such as “Last Man in Aleppo”, “Faces Places” and “Icarus” at the 90th Academy Awards in March. Ford talks about his film and responds to his nomination in an interviewed with Democracy Now!.
