PRESS KIT

BILLY

un film de Lawrence Côté-Collins

dédié aux victimes

Documentaire | 105 minutes | 2024

Technical information

Language: French with English ST

Filming: 4k - color

Ratio: scope | Sound: 5.1

DCP - ProRes - H264

Country: Canada (Quebec)

#schizophrenia #prison #help #mentalillness #friendship

Synopsis

Filmmaker Lawrence Côté-Collins finds her attacker in prison. She wants to understand, forgive, and support a suffering man. Billy is schizophrenic, and his most serious crisis left two dead. Their pen-and-ink prison friendship sheds light on the truth about this mental illness, which was neither diagnosed nor treated. Together, they share their stories and rebuild their lives through intimate correspondence and previously unseen video archives.

Key speakers

Lawrence Côté-Collins, Billy Poulin

Voice: Alexandre L'Heureux

FESTIVALS: Awards and official selections

Visions du Réel - Nyon International Film Festival - World Premiere - April 2024
RIDM - Montreal International Documentary Festival - North American Premiere - November 2024
LIFF - Leeds International Film Festival - UK Premiere - November 2024
Memorimage - Reus Film Festival - Spanish Premiere - November 2024
Molodist - Kyiv International Film Festival - Ukrainian Premiere - November 2024
Front Doc - Aosta International Film Festival - Italy - November 2024
Terraviva Film Festival - Italy - November 2024
DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival - Finnish Premiere - February 2025
Ann Arbor Film Festival - US Premiere - March 2025
FFAVM - Val-Morin Auteur Film Festival - Regional Premiere - May 2025

DIRECTOR - BIO

Lawrence is a transparent artist. An authentic queer woman. Unfiltered. Without taboos. She has an atypical career in film and television. She has directed more than forty short films and signed three feature films: Écartée (2016), Bungalow (2022), and Billy (2024). Several of her films have been selected and awarded prizes at festivals around the world. She co-authored her first book as a curator with Billy à vie.

Filmographie de la réalisatrice

BILLY, feature-length documentary, 2024

BUNGALOW, feature-length fiction film, 2022

DISMISSED, docu-fiction feature film, 2016

A SUCCESS EXAMPLE, short fiction film, 2012

SCORE, short fiction film, 2011

GEISHA QUÉBEC, short fiction film, 2011

FUCK THAT, experimental short film, 2010

RAW VEGETABLES, short fiction film, 2009

NO BREAD NO GAIN, short fiction film, 2009

SUMMERDOME, short fiction film, 2009

PRODUCER - ORGANIC

Vuk Stojanovic is a producer, filmmaker, cinematographer, and actor. He has contributed to several feature films, including "On the Nickel Moon" by François Jacob (Visions du réel, Hot-Docs), "Gamma Rays" by Henry Bernadet (New Directors, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Cinémania), and "Écartée" by Lawrence Côté-Collins (Fantasia). Vuk is also the artistic director of the Val-Morin Auteur Film Festival.

Producer's filmography

GAMMA RAYS, feature-length fiction film, 2023

A MOON OF NICKEL AND ICE, feature documentary, 2017

THE SMELL AFTER THE RAIN, short fiction film, 2016

SCORE, short fiction film, 2011

Team

Screenplay and direction - Lawrence Côté-Collins

Production - Vuk Stojanovic and Lawrence Côté-Collins

Editing - Josiane Lapointe, Alexandre Leblanc, Lawrence Côté-Collins

Sound design - Benoît Dame

Original music - Martin Roy, Luc Sicard

Animation - Josiane Lapointe, François Mercier, François-Éli Beauchesne

Legal consultation - Mr. Rodrigue Beauchesne

Photos

DOWNLOAD THE TRAILER

Press

La vie après « Tout le monde en parle »	Billy, de Lawrence Côté-Collins, à l’affiche le 23 mai 2025	Entrevue avec Lawrence Côté-Collins : dans la tête de Billy
Entrevue avec Lawrence Côté-Collins pour son documentaire Billy	Billy à vie : la schizophrénie vue de l’intérieur	Lawrence Côté-Collins présente son film Billy à Matane
Le documentaire Billy projeté à Matane	Billy: une œuvre réparatrice