IMPERFECT ILLUSION

LOGLINE
Claire Ashman reflects on the time in life when she was brainwashed and lived most of her life trapped in two ultra-religious, Doomsday cults.

SYNOPSIS
Claire Ashman didn’t own a pair of jeans, wear a bikini or get her ears pierced until she was 38. Spending
most of her life born, raised and married in a Doomsday cult. As a child, Claire was brainwashed and
lived most of her life trapped in two separate ultra-religious, Doomsday cults. Raised in an ultra religious
Catholic sect based in Melbourne, at age 18 Claire married a 31-year-old man and moved to Nowra,
NSW, to form part of the Order of St Charbel cult run by William “Little Pebble” Kamm. Through the use of digital mixed media, this short documentary explores Claire’s experience and struggles both within and her journey out of a religious Doomsday cult.

CREDITS

Directors
Alana Meehan
Katrina Salvador
Laura Apelt
Oscar Peterson
Tristan Winter

Producers
Alana Meehan
Katrina Salvador
Laura Apelt
Oscar Peterson
Tristan Winter

Editors
Alana Meehan
Katrina Salvador
Laura Apelt
Oscar Peterson
Tristan Winter

Photos Courtesy of
Claire Ashman

Videos Courtesy of
Archive.org
‘Jeans Historian’
‘Jesus Man’
Brenda Lee
‘Not Like Calvin’
‘Bass Angler’
Malcolm Broussard