The Boy Who Loved Dolls

An abduction…a series of interviews…an investigation with unthinkable outcomes.

Contemporary Gothic at its most inventive: at times, a psychological drama; at times, a tragedy embodying the grotesque and the horrific.

The Boy Who Loved Dolls is set in 1987 Australia, mainly at the renowned (and reclusive) French film director, Jean-Jacques Baille’s secluded country residence. Susan Vaughan, an eccentric young film critic and independent documentary-maker, is granted a once-in-a-lifetime chance to conduct a series of video-taped interviews staying with her long-term ‘cultural icon’. Unknown to her she learns that he is also an obsessive collector and restorer of rare and, at times, unnerving dolls.

What starts out as an in-depth investigation into the themes, techniques and patterns within his ground-breaking work – many featuring his Australian-born wife Anna – and a probing dissection of his most recent semi-biographical film – slowly turns into a cat-and-mouse game in which we find Baille is leading Susan towards his hidden past and the truth behind his wife’s disappearance.

‘I don’t know why [Scott] is not numbered up there with the Flanagans and Careys, because, like them, he writes across a number of genres and takes risks. And like them, he keeps me coming back for more.’ – Janine Rizzetti, residentjudge.com

John A. Scott, as twice winner of the Victorian Premier’s Prize…’twice shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award place[s] his work among the cream of Australia’s literary talent’. – The Orphic Journey of John A. Scott, Peter D. Mathews.