The Heartbreaking yet Inspirational Movie “Paper Flowers” World Movie Premier Plays on the Opening Night of the “Dances With Films” Film Festival, on Thursday June 20th at 7:30 PM, at the TCL Chinese Theatre at 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Mahesh Pailoor’s film is sure to warm you heart, as it tells you the true story of a young couple played brilliantly by actors: Kapil Talwalkar (Center of below photo), and Olivia Liang (Left of below photo). Kapil plays the lead role of: Shalin Shah, and Olivia plays his girlfriend: Fiona: 
They love each other so much, that they are able to heroically face and try to fight a terrible tragedy: terminal Cancer, and oncoming death better together, and amazingly actually help to inspire millions of people around the world! Which is something this world needs now, and learn to get along with each other, by ignoring the color of your skin, religion, and nationality, and love one another to inspire everyone to make this a better world!
In addition, it is the classic updated story of a young man and women whose Indian and Asian families are from different religious and national backgrounds, who at first want the young couple to breakup, but love conquers all, and the families learn to accept their son and daughter’s love for each other, and learn to get along and accept each family, and love each other.
Right from the movie “The Graduate” there is a direct takeoff: when the young man played by Dustin Hoffman, is given advice from one of his family elders: “Plastics” – the father of the Bride talks to the young man in this movie: Shalin and is given the advice: “silicone and fiber optics”.
There is another direct takeoff from the 1942 classic move: “The Pride of the Yankees” – the Lou Gehrig story, that stars Oscar winning Actor: Gary Cooper in the starring role as Baseball legend Lou Gehrig, that tells the Heartbreaking story of a man in his prime that knows he is dying, but in a very famous speech on July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, when the longtime Yankee first baseman uttered the famous words at a home plate ceremony at Yankee Stadium: “For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” This is called Lou Gehrig’s disease- also called: ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. So very similar in this movie: Shalin who is dying from Cancer says thanks to having cancer it had opened him up to do so many things that he has not done before: “So I feel like I am the luckiest man on the face of earth!”
At first Shalin is given Cancer treatments, that end up not helping, and then the cancer spreads to the brain which becomes terminal, but the magic of this movie is the young man together with his loving girlfriend Olivia learn to make the best of every day during the 2 months that he has left to live, and they both decide to get married, and that love story goes worldwide, and a beautiful, touching and inspiring story that the young man who knows he is going to die soon- writes called “Thank You Cancer” about how cancer helped him to experience living each day to the fullest, and doing things he never did before: ends up going viral as people from around the world post pictures of themselves in front of sunsets online that goes viral all around the world! Because this was the young man’s favorite thing to do.
The synopsis of this film:
Shalin Shah, an ambitious USC graduate, leaves behind his loving Indian American family and devoted girlfriend Fiona to pursue his dream of making a difference as a Peace Corps volunteer. However, his life takes a devastating turn when a check-up for a lingering cough reveals a shocking diagnosis: a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Forced to return home and undergo treatment, Shalin confronts the fundamental question: what is the true meaning of life when faced with limited time? Based on a true story, PAPER FLOWERS is a poignant and inspirational journey of love, loss, and hope. It serves as a roadmap to cherish the moments we have and to remember to stop and enjoy every sunset.
In 2015, Shalin penned the essay “Thank You Cancer” for Huffpost, which went viral and inspired people worldwide to savor and share their sunsets.
Director Mahesh Pailoor is an award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Raised in a seaside town in Maine to immigrant Indian parents, his films often grapple with divergent notions of South Asian identity. Pailoor’s work has been championed at festivals and institutions like SXSW, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and the Smithsonian Institution. He directed and co-wrote the acclaimed independent feature 75th BRAHMIN BULLS, which The New York Times praised as a “warm debut”. Pailoor has also directed multiple episodes of marquee shows like NBC’s The Blacklist and CBS’s S.W.A.T., showcasing versatility across genres. He is an alumnus of the NBC Emerging Director Program, Disney’s TV Directing Program, Berlinale Talent Campus, and Film Independent’s Screenwriting Lab and Project: Involve. Pailoor is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and earned his MFA in directing from the American Film Institute. For Pailoor, PAPER FLOWERS is a poetic meditation on mortality that represents an evolving Indian American diaspora.
Producer Asit Vyas is an entrepreneur who lives in Los Angeles and previously franchised Burger King restaurants in California and Pizza Hut restaurants in Connecticut and Rhode Island. While working as a fast-food franchisee, he pursued his passion for cinema by studying filmmaking at San Jose State University. Vyas embraced a career shift after co-writing and –producing the Bollywood feature ZARA SI BHOOL: A SMALL MISTAKE (Amazon Prime), selling his franchise business and completing the prestigious UCLA Producers Program, which reignited his dedication to the entertainment industry. Vyas’ journey embodies an enduring celebration of diversity, whether in restaurants, films, or cherished moments with his wife, son, daughter, and their spouses.
The film goes on to play the London Indian Film Festival on June 26 and the Birmingham Indian Film Festival on June 27.
PAPER FLOWERS
An AV Entertainment Company Production
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Sound: 5.1
Director: Mahesh Pailoor
Writers: Mary Krell-Oishi, Mahesh Pailoor
Producer: Asit Vyas
Executive Producers: Mita Vyas, Asit Vyas, Santosh Govindaraju, Mahesh Pailoor
Co-Producer: Brandon Miree
Associate Producers: Naman Gupta, Kapil Talwalkar, Olivia Liang
Cinematographer: Aakash Raj
Editor: Cary Lin
Production Designer: Carlee Wyman
Costumer Designers: Amanda Massi, Taj Jackson
Casting Director: Emily Schweber CSA
Music by: Kristin Øhrn Dyrud
Principal Cast: Kapil Talwalkar, Olivia Liang, Karan Soni, Faran Tahir, Meera Simhan, and West Liang with Jenny Gago and Tom Everett Scott
Our News Team of Entertainment Today TV Producer: Steve Taylor, TV Show Host: Margie Rey, & News Reporter: Matt Segal at The Opening Night of the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood, at The World Famous Chinese Theatre: 
Among DWF: LA’s lineup of 232 films, including 38 narrative features, 17 documentary features, 25 television and streaming pilots, and 152 short films (101 narrative and 20 documentaries, 13 KIdz section, 18 Downbeat/Music), are an impressive number of films (117!) making world, international, North American, or U.S. premieres. That number includes 24 narrative features, 10 documentary features, 69 narrative shorts, 22 documentary shorts (including Downbeat), and 15 pilots which will have world premiere screenings at Dances With Films.
The Dances With Films Festival is a Star-Studded 11 days, with Both A-List stars, and several recognizable faces and names that include: “Norita” that is Executive produced by Jane Fonda, Russell Goldman’s Burn Out, which is executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and stars Tommie Earl Jenkins, Eli Vidis Newman’s Concrete, which stars four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris, Kestrin Pantera’s Dr. No Means No, which stars comedy duo The Sklar Brothers, Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), and Breeda Wool (The Walking Dead), Mike Harris’ Mecánica, which stars Haley Joel Osment, and Olivia Sandoval(Fargo), and Danny Farber’s Thoughts and Prayers, which is executive produced by Amy Poehler, “Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox” Stars: Samuel Dunning, Felicia Day, Danny Trejo, and Keith David, Mindy Cohn the Co-Star on “The Facts of Life,” and finally: the World Premiere of “Max Dagan” which stars: Rob Morrow, Zachary Gordon, Michael Madsen, Rob Brownstein, Lindsey Dresbach, Lisa Roumain, and Comedians and Actors Jeff Ross and Jay Mohr!
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