Comments on: Variety on Billy the Kid

By: Paul Moore

Paul Moore — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:10:58 +0000

I interviewed Venditti at SXSW and brought up my mixed feelings about Billy being treated as a sort of poster-boy. Her sincerity in the interview is obvious and I believe she's just next in a line of filmmakers (Cassavetes, Solondz) accused of "exploiting" people with disabilities because they refuse to condescend to them with their cameras.

By: Michael Levine

Michael Levine — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:45:28 +0000

I worked 7 months as film editor on “Billy the Kid.” I saw
every second of footage she shot. Jennifer and I talked many hours about her goals for the film. John Anderson doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

It may be hard to believe but these events played out without being set up or even coaxed. Clearly ignorant to the process of shooting and editing verite, Mr. Anderson implies proof of the fraud stating, “…sequences involving Billy and Heather, shot
from multiple angles, but not, it seems, multiple cameras.” If he really believed that Jennifer would set up scenes for the film, why not ask any of the people involved? Would that have been so difficult?

But what’s even worse is that he thinks he knows her ill intent. “…Appallingly callous act of exploitation”?! What?! FOR THE RECORD: Jennifer Venditti was less interested in making a hit documentary than in making a film true to Billy and her feelings of admiration for him.

There are other disturbing things in John Anderson’s so-called review but these are the bits that having been part of the process I can swear he’s wrong about.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:03:39 +0000

Saw this at Full Frame as a “sneak peek” and talked to Jennifer afterwards. I loved this film, I felt the filmmaker had nothing but respect and fondness for her subjects, and the slice-of-life, verite style worked beautifully for a young man for whom this was obviously a thrill. Someone was paying attention–watching and listening to a person “just different in the mind–different brains, that’s all.” (Those are Billy’s words describing himself, by the way.) Critics are such windbags sometimes. Anderson’s comments say more about him than they do about Venditti’s sweet, moving film.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:21:40 +0000

Agnes … you may be interested also in the excerpt from the interview we did at SXSW with Billy and the Director and Producer. The whole interview will be available shortly. When you see the interaction between them, the idea that this is an exploitive act is visibly a silly thought. (Disclosure — IndiePix has supported and is supporting this film.) Here’s the interview link where you can seem them speak for themselves: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v429215yhreXztT?cmpTag=featured&rank=6