Billy, the eponymous protagonist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, but only after spending his early years in prison following an atrocious and irreparable act committed during a psychotic break, which claimed two victims. Filmmaker Lawrence Côté-Collins, herself a victim of Billy’s aggressions, nevertheless decides to re-establish contact in response to the cry for help from her old friend she met during the Kino movement. Through an exchange of letters, the exploration of a rich corpus of short films he made, and his police interrogation, this humane work paints a poignant and complex portrait of a soul tormented from an early age, now isolated and suffering. This creation gradually becomes a kind of therapy, enabling this man, abandoned by those around him and the system, to come to terms with his illness as well as his crimes. A creator with an eclectic spirit, Lawrence is a testament to the power of inventive, offbeat cinema, capable not only of becoming a powerful vehicle for redemption, forgiveness, and social transformation but also of prompting us to question the very foundations of our society. (AAM)

The screening on the 28th of november will be followed by the book launch of Billy à vie : une plongée en schizophrénie from La Mèche, in the Cinémathèque québécoise's café-bar.

Co-presented by La Mèche

competition : National Feature Competition

Billy