“The Pearl Comb” Shortlisted for the Academy Awards Live Action Short — In Competition at Indie Short Fest

The Pearl Comb, directed by Ali Cook (UK), has been selected as one of the fifteen films advancing on the Academy Awards shortlist in the Live Action Short Film category, marking a major milestone in the film’s awards-season trajectory.

Set in 1893, the 20-minute film follows a fisherman’s wife who becomes the first person to cure someone of tuberculosis. When a doctor — determined to prove that a woman’s place is in the home and not in the practice of medicine — investigates her case, he is forced to confront the unsettling truth behind the source of her unearthly power.

The Pearl Comb remains under consideration at Indie Short Fest as part of the January 2026 season, with final results to be announced following the conclusion of the monthly competition.