A Man Named Pearl

"An ENRICHING slice of feel-good Americana that's INFECTIOUSLY UPBEAT and TOTALLY IRRESISTIBLE" Seattle Times

Balanced gracefully on a ladder, deftly carving with his electric hedge trimmer, Pearl Fryar has the elegance and strength of a dancer. He is, by contrast, a topiary sculptor, an artist whose medium is discarded or “junk” plant life and whose canvas is his magical and fantastical garden.

A MAN NAMED PEARL chronicles the story of Pearl’s dazzling garden as well as his extraordinary life, both of which serve as inspirations to his family, his community, and the thousands of visitors who come to experience Pearl’s world each year. The film traces Pearl’s journey from a small town sharecropper’s son to an internationally-acclaimed artist, and from his initial goal to win the Bishopville, SC, “Yard of the Month Award”—a goal instigated by a bigoted remark—to the many accolades that followed, including museum exhibitions and his status as the celebrated cultural icon of his impoverished town. Now 68, the soft-spoken Pearl has just one wish for all those who wander through his living art: they must leave feeling differently than when they arrived.

Intimate and uplifting, A MAN NAMED PEARL offers a captivating window into the life a man who turned obstacles into breathtakingly beautiful possibilities.