Siren Visual has acquired the award-winning documentary Billy the Kid, a provocative coming-of-age story about growing up different.
Winner of countless awards at film festivals around the world, included the Audience Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Billy the Kid has won over cinephiles for its heartfelt portrayal of adolescence.
A contemporary documentary, Billy the Kid begins as an intimate portrait that quickly expands into broader social observation of teenage self-discovery; both the darkest and brightest places in youth.
Shot over eight days over two seasons, summer and winter, the film uses a trans-genre, verité approach in which the subject seems to be directing the movement of the film as equally as the filmmakers behind the camera.
First-time director Jennifer Venditti stumbled upon Billy while casting Carter Smith's short film, Bugcrush, from non-actor high school students in rural Maine. Intrigued by his eccentric wisdom and pop-infused intuition and sensibility, Venditti and DP Donald Cumming travelled to Maine to capture moments from the precocious teen's everyday life.
Unfazed by the wireless microphone that he faithfully wore each day, Billy allowed the filmmakers to follow him and witness the highs and lows of school, taunting from bullies and the colourful locals of Main Street, as well as intimate emotional discussions with his mother.
In the midst of shooting, Billy serendipitously crosses paths with his crush Heather at the local diner, and the film takes an unexpected turn as the filmmakers track the nuances of first-time teenage love and its aftermath.
Billy shares intimate and acute observations about himself and those around him without restriction. Penny, Billy's mother, proves to be a valiant touchstone. She shares their difficult history with Billy's addicted, abusive biological father and we see glimpses of how Billy's attitude towards women was shaped by his inability to protect his own mother when he was a child. His fantasy world is similarly constructed from heroic desires to overcome demons from their shared past and prevail.
Billy the Kid is the coming of age journey of a teenage outsider who confronts obstacles with courage and awareness. He struggles to define himself apart from his past and others' notions of who he is. The film challenges viewers to look beyond labels and to contemplate the undetermined future of a teen.
Melbourne gets a chance to preview the film at a one-off screening in March at the Rooftop Cinema.
