Table of Contents
Three Key Takeaways
- Ali Cook blends historical truth and folklore to challenge traditional gender roles and mermaid myths in The Pearl Comb.
- The film’s visual storytelling, especially its digital effects, marks a breakthrough in merging practical performance with post-production magic.
- Independent filmmaking’s freedom fuels Cook’s distinct voice and creative risks, showcased in this genre-bending period drama.
Writer, director, and actor Ali Cook brings an evocative blend of history and mythology to life in The Pearl Comb, a mesmerizing period drama selected for FilmQuest 2025.
Featuring a distinguished cast including Beatie Edney, Clara Paget, and Simon Armstrong, the film explores the true story of early women doctors through the lens of a mysterious mermaid figure.
Cook’s BAFTA longlisted background, along with producer Matthew J. Wilkinson’s experienced Stigma Films, amplifies the film’s power to push genre boundaries and celebrate female tenacity.
What drew you to make The Pearl Comb? Why this story, and why now?
Firstly, I’d heard the true story of the Edinburgh Seven: The first seven women to qualify as doctors in the UK. The medical profession did everything they could to stop them from practising, so the Seven had to come up with inventive lies to justify the work they were doing such as claiming to be midwives or natural healers. Secondly, I wanted to portray mermaids as creatures of the wild rather than as a Disney princesses’ or as a teen love interest. It felt like the right time to bring these stories together—especially now, when there’s a bigger conversation happening around gender, power, and the way women have historically been overlooked, misunderstood, or even seen as threatening or strange, just for being different.
“It felt like the right time to bring these stories together—especially now, when there’s a bigger conversation happening around gender, power, and the way women have historically been overlooked, misunderstood, or even seen as threatening or strange, just for being different.”
What surprised you most about the filmmaking process this time—creatively or logistically? Was there a moment on set or in post that completely changed how you saw the story?
The mermaid shooting out of the water during the boat scene springs to mind. It’s such a pivotal scene and the sequence was shot in a studio, with all the water effects achieved digitally. The challenge of creating that moment, making the digital effects blend seamlessly with the performance, gave me a whole new appreciation for how visual storytelling can transform a scene. It really made me realise how crucial the post-production work is to the final emotional impact of the story.
Is there a moment in the film that feels the most you—something only you could have made?
A: At the end of the film there is a scene with a water tank. This idea came to me because I’m also a stage magician and I used to perform Houdini’s water tank escape. I think that was the unconscious inspiration for this ending—something that feels very specific to me!
What was the hardest creative decision you made while making this film?
Creating a convincing mermaid on screen! It took months of discussion and inventive work with the SFX and VFX teams.
What do you hope audiences take away from your film?
That where there is a will, there is always a way – and a reminder of the strength of women throughout history and their relentless tenacity.
“The challenge of creating that moment, making the digital effects blend seamlessly with the performance, gave me a whole new appreciation for how visual storytelling can transform a scene.”
How has this film shaped or shifted the kind of stories you want to tell next?
I now love period dramas!
What’s a tool, technique, or resource that really helped you during production?
I think using stick men diagrams on the back of a napkin are the cheapest and easiest way to communicate the blocking of scenes.
Independent filmmakers often rewrite the rules out of necessity. What do you think is the greatest strength of independent filmmaking, and how did you lean into that on this project? Is there a lesson or breakthrough you’d share with others navigating this path?
For me, the greatest strength of independent filmmaking is freedom. Shorts are really the only time in a filmmaker’s career where you’ll glimpse the director’s unfiltered voice. The biggest breakthrough had to be both trusting my imagination and the brilliance of my team. When you believe in your instincts and you surround yourself with people who bring their own spark, the work starts to flow naturally.
What does it mean to you to have your film selected for FilmQuest, one of the world’s top reviewed genre film festivals?
It’s a huge honour. Being recognised by one of the world’s top-reviewed genre festivals means so much. Genre films often push boundaries and take risks, and to have our work acknowledged in that space is exciting.
“For me, the greatest strength of independent filmmaking is freedom. Shorts are really the only time in a filmmaker’s career where you’ll glimpse the director’s unfiltered voice.”
FilmQuest celebrates the majesty and might of genre filmmaking across fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action, thriller, western, kung-fu, and beyond. How does your film fit within—or push the boundaries of—genre storytelling?
I wanted to portray mermaids as creatures of the wild with sinister, vampiric qualities rather than how they are seen in Disney films. To me it’s the difference between seeing a lion in The Lion King and seeing a real lion – hungry, gaunt, weathered; a predator in a wildlife documentary. Secondly, the man the Siren is trying to seduce (Lutey) is not interested in her. He’d rather go home to his wife. Again, playing against the trope.
Where do you see this film going next?
I write stories simply because I write stories, and this one just happened to be fifteen pages long! But more and more people are telling me it would make a great feature.
“At the core of all my work is a desire to give hope."
For more on The Pearl Comb, visit their Instagram.
