Billy The Kid
2014, 15 minutes
Billy, the young school boy living as a cowboy.
By most people’s standards, Billy is pretty normal. 15-years-old. Bright. Not bad looking. Except that he lives his life as a cowboy. Dresses like one. Behaves like one. Quotes John Wayne and carries a lasso. It’s Billy first day at a new school. He was bullied out of the last one. It’s will be an extraordinary day, one that begins with hope, veers wildly towards despair, then spirals dizzyingly towards an exhilarating, action laden catharsis. A rough introduction to his class is followed by a fruitless ‘Show-and-tell.’ No one will volunteer to help Billy show his lasso skills. He meets a girl and at Gym class, almost makes a friend - but on both fronts is thwarted. All the while, an unknown threat increasingly imbues proceedings. Pupils refer ambiguously to it. Teachers seem watchful - checking locks, closing windows. The children eat lunch inside, even though it’s summer. Though the school doesn't quite know it yet, they're in need of a hero. A lasso wielding, fedora wearing, tobacco (bubblegum) chewing hero. Warm, nostaligic, tense and uplifting - Billy the Kid is 15 minutes of unapologetic entertainment.
