PRESS KIT
BILLY
BILLY
a documentary by Lawrence Côté-Collins
dedicated to the victims
Documentary | 105 minutes | 2024
Specs
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.
Protagonists
Lawrence Côté-Collins, Billy Poulin
Voice: Alexandre L'Heureux
FESTIVALS: Awards and official selections
AWARDS
• Grand Jury Prize – 5th Terraviva Film Festival – Italy, 2024
• Student Jury Award – 5th Terraviva Film Festival – Italy, 2024
• Student Jury Award – 27th RIDM (Montreal International Documentary Festival) – Canada, 2024
• Special Jury Prize – 50th SIFF – Seattle International Film Festival – USA, 2025
• Special Mention – 12th Dieppe Canadian Film Festival – France, 2025
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
• Visions du Réel – International Film Festival in Nyon – World Premiere – April 2024
• RIDM – Montreal International Documentary Festival – North American Premiere – November 2024
• LIFF – Leeds International Film Festival – UK Premiere – November 2024
• Memorimage – Film Festival of Reus – 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
• Biennal Internacional Dona i Cinema – Mujer y Cine – Woman & Film – Spain – February 2025
• Ann Arbor Film Festival – U.S. Premiere – March 2025
• Dieppe Canadian Film Festival – French Premiere – March 2025
• Festival du film de l’Outaouais – Canada – April 2025
• FFAVM – Val-Morin Auteur Film Festival – Regional Premiere – May 2025
• Seattle International Film Festival – USA – May 2025
• UnArchive Found Footage Fest – Italy – 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.
Director's filmography
BILLY, feature-length documentary, 2024
BUNGALOW, feature-length fiction, 2022
ÉCARTÉE, feature-length docufiction, 2016
UN EXEMPLE DE SUCCÈS, short fiction film, 2012
SCORE, short fiction film, 2011
GEISHA QUÉBEC, short fiction film, 2011
FUCK THAT, experimental short film, 2010
CRUDITÉS, short fiction film, 2009
PAS DE PAIN PAS DE GAIN, short fiction film, 2009
SUMMERDOME, short fiction film, 2009
PRODUCER - BIO
Vuk Stojanovic is a producer, filmmaker, cinematographer, and actor. He has contributed to several feature films, including "Sur la lune de Nickel" by François Jacob (Visions du réel, Hot-Docs), "Les rayons gammas" 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
LES RAYONS GAMMAS, feature-length fiction, 2023
SUR LA LUNE DE NICKEL, feature-length documentary, 2017
L'ODEUR APRÈS LA PLUIE, 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
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 |
Contact
Festivals Outside Canada
Raina Film Festival Distribution
www.rainafilms.com
andy@rainafilms.com