Billy Yeager (b. 1957)
Birthplace:
Miami, Florida, USA
Born:
September 6, 1957
Billy Yeager is a singer-songwriter, musician, actor and filmmaker who has written, produced and directed several low-budget independent feature films. Billy Yeager composes all the music for his films, performing all the instruments himself, and he also performs as many of the lead characters. In 1991, he was discovered by Grammy Award Winner Bruce Hornsby, and he has recorded music with many world renowned musicians such as the Inner Circle Band, Ira Sullivan, and Jaco Pastorius. Yeager's life was filmed since he was 8 years old by his aunt Bunny Yeager, and some of the footage was edited into a fictional film called "Jimmy's Story." Jimmy’s Story is a combination of several film genres: documentary film, mockumentary, pseudo-docu, docu-fiction, and cinema verite. The first version of "Jimmy's Story" was completed in 1996. Infused with a sense of purpose as an artist, Yeager decided he wanted to challenge the audience's perception of fame and success, and society's obsession with celebrities, while also exposing the media and the press that promote sensational news and trivial matters to the public. Heralded as a major achievement, "Jimmy's Story" won an unprecedented 4 awards at the Dahlonega International Film Festival in 2003 for Best first film, Best director, Best documentary and Best folk film, and Best Documentary at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. In 2002, Yeager produced and directed the film "The Florida Highwaymen," a documentary about the famous Florida folk artists whose paintings became highly sought-after by art collectors in 2000. Yeager's next film was called "A Perfect Song." The film tells the story about a man named Lloyd, who wants to dedicate his life to finding a way to discover a perfect song that can heal the world. Relinquishing his worldly desires, he seeks God's will for his life. Yeager gained 35 pounds and shaved his head for the lead role of Lloyd. He won Best Actor at the Delray Beach Film Festival in 2004. Billy Yeager and his wife Anais spent the next 7 years making the film trilogy "Jesus of Malibu." The film follows the characters Mindy and Jesus on their quest for truth. The Yeagers filmed in over 13 states and completed their film without a film crew. Yeager lost 30 pounds dropping his weight from 182 to 152 and grew his hair and a beard for over 2 years for the role of Jesus. The film will only be screened in the desert for Mindy's Wish and Foundation. The Yeagers next movie, "Sebastian Beach One Fine Day," premiered in 2012 at the NYC Surf Film Festival. Drew Kampion, the former editor of Surfer magazine, stated, "The wonderful thing about this creative product of the combined wills and imaginations of Anais and Billy Yeager is how profoundly it succeeds in quietly crystallizing an alternative reality in the here and now." In 2013 Maltese Productions produced the documentary film called "The Film That Changed The World". The documentary tells the story of the Yeagers' desire to create a transcendental film. "The Film That Changed The World" (the making of the film "Jesus of Malibu") won the Most Inspirational Movie Award at the Red Dirt International Film Festival in 2015. The Yeagers continue to create art, music and films to change the world. Their mission is to raise consciousness and help those who cannot help themselves.