My ole’ Arizona Filmbuddy, Pearry Teo passed away in 2023. He was only 44.
You may know Pearry from his graphic horror and fantasy films, and he had a personal interest in the “dark…shadows” that lay near the light. But he wasn’t a “dark” person.
Pearry and I worked together in Tucson on a film, and we also worked to keep our Tucson based film group together (current name IFA aka IFASA.)
In his films, Pearry was known for dark images and themes, and in sharp contrast, I look for the light that shines down upon us. So in filmmaking we didn’t always jive.
But when it came to personal dynamics on the film set, we agreed that being a film-bastard on the set was not the right approach. Sure Pearry could be tough on the set — but like most prolific directors, this is how he got things done.
It makes me sad to see that a guy who seemed to care very much for people has left this earth. He may be represented on IMDB and the Hollywood Reporter as a dark-filmmaker, but let it be known please that he was not a dark-person. I wish that I could share more details with you — but I only knew Pearry while in Arizona, I was not doing film related things with him when he lived in Cali.
Wrapping it up…
I’m humbled and proud to say that Pearry once said to me: “You know more about filmmaking than I do.” I don’t agree, and to this day, this blows my mind. I mean, gosh…He was the guy…he was the guy who made it. He worked with talent like Bai Ling…Pearry wrote, He made props, costuming, and of course he got PAID to Direct Films.
On a personal note…
When in film school I once told a filmmaker that you have to be responsible for what you put out there. I said: “…Just look at what happened to Leni Riefenstahl, her entire career is jaded by her Propaganda Films…”
I’d like to leave you with this little nugget: Be Good in All Things, and try not to be a “Film-Bastard!”