THE PEARL COMB
In 1893, a fisherman’s wife becomes the first person to cure someone of tuberculosis. A doctor, intent on proving a woman’s place is in the home and not practising medicine, investigates – only to discover the source of her unearthly power.
TRAILER
THE PEARL COMB is the only short film to be both Oscar short listed and BAFTA long listed for 2026.
Cook’s directorial debut it has won over seventy five awards including the Coveted Melies D’Argent.
It has also screened at nine Oscar qualifying frstivals.
It follows Ali’s BAFTA long listed short, THE CUNNING MAN.
It screened at 88 international film festivals and won thirty three awards.
He’s also an actor. Credits include the BAFTA nominated & BIFA winning film KAJAKI (Dir. Paul Katis), MUSCLE (Dir. Gerard Johnson), HOW TO FAKE A WAR alongside Katherine Parkinson (Dir. Rudolph Herzog) and as series regular DCI Simmons in RAGDOLL for AMC/BBC1
“The Pearl Comb is ambitious, smart, scary, dramatic, funny, and above all, expertly crafted” Joanna Laurie – Producer of ONE LIFE, starring Anthony Hopkins.
I made “The Pearl Comb” after hearing the unjust, true story of the ‘Edinburgh Seven’. In the 1890’s, seven women qualified to become doctors. However, instead of being celebrated, male doctors perceived them as a threat to their livelihood.
The public pelted the women with mud, and they were denied the right to practise medicine. I was thinking about the ‘seven’ around the time I visited Cornwall with my daughters, where we
heard the legend of the ‘Pellar family’ – an ancient lineage of esoteric ‘healers’, who claimed that their powers were granted to them by a mermaid.
From there, I concocted a tale about a Victorian, female, doctor who practiced medicine under the guise of being a witch, blessed with healing powers – a narrative her rural community preferred to
believe…
“As a woman, I’ve often heard that luck is an easier answer than skill” – Betty Lutey.