Log Line
Billy Bendecido confronts the fallout of a wrongful conviction and battles ensuing mental health issues, financial woes and a spiteful landlord. His journey of self-discovery reveals the resilience needed to rebuild his life.
Director’s Statement
As a kid, I shared a bed with my uncle who suffers from schizophrenia. I've always seen him as a brilliant man when he wasn't struggling with his illness. Before bed, he and I would have conversations about the voices in his head. As a result of this, I believe I have a special kind of insight into his illness.
My uncle was the victim of police brutality as a teen, and after several blows to the head, he was never the same. Fifteen years later, the police assaulted me. As I sat on the pavement handcuffed, I thought about how men like myself could become mentally ill simply from existing in a world where we have to be on guard constantly.
By making this movie, I intend for my audience to stand in the shoes of a man struggling to answer a gut-wrenching question. Did mental illness cause my victimization at the hands of the police, or am I mentally ill because I'm a victim? This movie is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an entertaining yet thought-provoking commentary on a topic that can save lives. So we need to act now.
I've never been more committed to telling a story and I can’t wait to direct this film. The collaborative filmmaking process is akin to an orchestra – and I intend to conduct my cast and crew like a goddamn symphony while creating a cinematic language that leaves audiences simultaneously thrilled and engaged by the ethical and philosophical questions this story presents.
Synopsis
Like countless Black men in America, BILLY BENDECIDO “fit the description”. At least that’s what he was told. Out for a late night run, he was approached by two police officers who believed he was the suspect who robbed a couple at a nearby ATM. Although he tried to proclaim his innocence, they didn’t see someone who was out for a run. He was just running. What happened next is hazy; fragments of memory and shards of detail that crescendo into a tightly bound knot of darkness. As our story begins, Billy has just concluded his court ordered parole after a 6 month prison sentence. His parole officer GAIL reminds him that the slightest slip-up will land him right back in jail. But Billy is no longer the same person he was before “the incident”. An up-and-coming Afro-Latino artist, he’s struggling to find his way back, gripped by hallucinations and encroaching mental illness that make him question not only his artistic purpose, but his very reality. Although Billy’s manager SARA offers words of encouragement, she’s putting pressure on Billy to deliver a new series of paintings that will offer much needed financial stability once they’re sold. But the rent is due now and the pressure is on. ALFONSO, the son of Billy’s recently deceased landlord who is now managing the apartment building where Billy lives, refuses to abide by any side agreements that his father had with the tenants. He’s happy to exploit the scarlet letter of Billy’s status as an ex-con to ensure that the “crazy artist” bows to his threats and demands. If Billy doesn’t pay his back rent immediately, he’ll be out on the street. And then there’s LOLA, the beautiful dancer who is Billy’s neighbor and artistic muse. A recovering addict, she too is facing Alfonso’s vengeful wrath as he tries to force her out of the apartment because she refused to continue dating him after a brief romantic tryst. Billy is seemingly too broken to defend Lola’s honor and protect her from Alfonso, even as she escalates matters to a point that puts her on a collision course with the abusive and unstable manager after he tows her car just before she’s due to leave for an audition. Against this backdrop, Billy is teetering on the edge of sanity, reliving disjointed moments of his violent interaction with police where they claimed he brutally attacked the two officers although he can’t actually remember what happened. Billy is guided on the journey by his talking beta fish MACHO, an avatar of his subconscious, who cajoles him to not only defend Lola, but also to come to the aid of ROSA, a mother whose son was killed in a flash of gun violence by a local store owner. As Billy falls deeper into a hallucinatory fugue state, he comes alive in powerful alternate realities that actualize the various dimensions of his identity as an artist and a man; the poet, the fighter, the lover. But these increasingly manic episodes also give Alfonso the ammunition he needs to be rid of Billy once and for all. Lola’s drug relapse forces Billy to confront the truth of what really happened to him the night he went to jail and start to rebuild his art and his life just as Alfonso comes gunning for both of them. As Billy rises to the moment and finally takes control, he risks losing his freedom, his livelihood and his future. In the aftermath, Alfonso lays badly beaten, his threats of returning Billy to jail are met with a stoic resolve to accept the outcome without fear. We conclude our tale in a prison art class, observing a man from a distance who might be Billy. Is he now a two-time offender, back in a cage forced to suffer the consequences of Alfonso’s manipulations? As it turns out, Billy’s actually the instructor, bringing hope and healing to other inmates. He makes his way outside into the open embrace of Lola, who comes bearing tickets to her new dance show and Sara, who hands Billy a check for the recent sale of his artwork. His shocked reaction indicates the fulfillment of a dream and the honor of a legacy in the making.