13-second trailer The Perfect Boy Myth | Played by Kate Sherman

The Orator is a machiavellian child dictator who convinces an audience of masked orphans that he is the "only son" destined to bring them the mother they always wanted. This enchanting and charismatic magician seduces his audience with a myth that plays on their simple childish fears.

The Perfect Boy Myth is an award-winning art video written and directed by Liberté Grace, shot by Australian cinematographer Joel Peterson, with performance-maker Kate Sherman in the lead role. The work brought together a creative team of more than 100 people from around the world to create a dark fairy tale about a small, racist society of orphaned children ruled by a charismatic boy who promises to “Protect them from evil” and “Bring the great mother back to life.”

Drawing on historical references to Nazi Germany, a chilling story from the Vietnam War, and the 2005 Cronulla Race Riots in Sydney, Australia, The Perfect Boy Myth plays with familiar fairy-tale archetypes while turning their idealism inside out. The work examines how cultural programming can embed ideas of purity, belonging, authority and protection within stories that appear innocent on the surface.

The Perfect Boy Myth was selected for the Cannes Film Festival and the Art Basel Film Program in Hong Kong, and was presented in Times Square, New York.