Billy (2024 film)

Billy
Directed byLawrence Côté-Collins
Written byLawrence Côté-Collins
Produced byLawrence Côté-Collins
Vuk Stojanovic
StarringBilly Poulin
Lawrence Côté-Collins
CinematographyLawrence Côté-Collins
Sophie Lanctôt
Benoît Rodrigue
Billy Poulin
Benoît Poulin
Josiane Lapointe
Pascal Brazeau
Sylvia Demarais
Edited byJosiane Lapointe
Alexandre Leblanc
Lawrence Côté-Collins
Music byMartin Roy
Luc Sicard
Production
company
LC2 Productions
Distributed byVital Distribution
Release date
Running time
107 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

Billy is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Lawrence Côté-Collins and released in 2024.[1]

The film profiles Billy Poulin, an actor Côté-Collins had worked with in her debut short film No Pain, No Gain (Pas de pain, pas de gain) before cutting off contact with him in the early 2010s when he physically assaulted her, and who later exhibited symptoms of schizophrenia before being convicted and imprisoned for committing murder in 2013.[2] It centres in part on their efforts to reconcile and heal their relationship following the assault incident, as well as highlighting excerpts from Poulin's own amateur filmmaking during the early decline in his mental health.[3]

Distribution

The film premiered at the Visions du Réel documentary film festival in 2024,[1] and subsequently screened at other film festivals.

It received a special commercial screening in Poulin's hometown of Matane, Quebec, in January 2025,[4] before going into general commercial release in May 2025.[5]

Awards

The film won the Student Jury Award at the 2024 Montreal International Documentary Festival,[6] and a special jury citation in the documentary competition at the 2025 Seattle International Film Festival.[7]

References