PEARL OF WISDOM Snags Attention At Austin Comedy Film Festival

PEARL OF WISDOM, a creative development project of an incognito Indian entertainment holding company with growing global acclaim, and by entertainment multi-hyphenate Marlene Sharp (SONIC BOOM, YO-KAI WATCH, POSTMAN PAT: THE MOVIE), is the recipient of multiple 2021 screenplay commendations, including honoree status at the recent Austin Comedy Film Festival.

The half-hour animated TV series script enjoyed a gut-busting, standing-room-only, live staged reading on May 16 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas. Actors Bara Kim (COMING CLEAN, Upright Citizens Brigade), Chase Yi (WANDAVISION, SWEET HOME, EXTRACURRICULAR), Topaz McGarrigle (Terrence Malik's SONG TO SONG), and Mandy Smith (ESTROGEN FOLLIES, TODAY SHOW) portrayed cartoon adolescents who use stand-up and improvisational comedy as chuckle-worthy, unconventional coping mechanisms. Sharp herself tackled two supporting roles from her offstage perch within the Drafthouse.

On the official website, Austin Comedy Film Fest judges review Best Comedy Teleplay Finalist PEARL OF WISDOM thus: "PEARL OF WISDOM, written by Marlene Sharp from the United States, has a really fantastic and original concept that's guaranteed to make any reader laugh out loud. The characters are all exceptionally well-developed, and the dialogue is hysterical. The story is relatable and remains intriguing page after page, effectively keeping readers engaged and invested in the plot."

Austin Comedy Film Festival founder/director Mikel Fair elaborated on his history with writer/creator Sharp by saying, "Marlene is a superstar veteran of ACFF and our sister fests in Houston and Portland. I'm a fan! Her previous script [BORN IN LA] and her work as creative producer on the animated TV show SNACK WORLD were real crowd pleasers with past fest audiences. It's great to hear her dialogue spoken up close and personal this year. In our decade-long history, 2021 marks our first screenplay staged reading, and it definitely won't be the last!"

Actor Bara Kim gleefully described her experience in voicing lead character PEARL for enthusiastic ACFF spectators. "I am eternally grateful to Marlene for trusting me to read for her at ACFF. It was an absolute pleasure; her kindness and hard work is apparent in ALL THAT she does. She is someone I look up to in the industry as a strong woman who leads with grace, humor, and humility."

On the dais in Austin, Marlene Sharp cited three major sources of inspiration for this particular writing project: Her own firsthand encounters with bullies, plus the resulting depression and anxiety; her adventures as a stand-up comedian who has reverse-engineered unpleasantries into comedic material for mass consumption; and her collaboration with entertainment industry retirement community residents and with young adult animators on the autism spectrum. These endeavors suggest that bullies, anxiety, and depression do not discriminate based on age. With PEARL, Sharp hopes to serve that message in a manner akin to administering medicine with sugar, and effect change accordingly.

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