Life Outside of Pearl

The feature film "Life Outside of Pearl" is about a lower-middle class Haitian-American family assimilating into a new culture, while maintaining their ethnic identity. The family patriarch presents a proud exterior earning a living as a taxi cab driver trying to keep his adulterous affair, a secret. His wife is are of his indiscretions but chooses to deny her own needs to keep her home and family intact. Jean, the couple's teenage son is smart, but naively decides to postpone college to pursue dreams of opening a computer shop in the neighborhood. Jean uses illegal means to raise capital for the shop and he gets involved with less than savory friends. Jean's sister finds love with her new boyfriend only to have her romantic fairy tale life shattered by catching her father with another woman. Marco, the handsome family cousin is a local police officer trying to balance his life on the street with family involvement.

Directed by Johnny Desarmes, Life Outside of Pearl leans on a strong ensemble — Jimmy Jean-Louis, Freddie Robinson, Rudolph Moise — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 0.