A young man’s devastating diagnosis led to an essay that millions read. Now it’s a movie.

Paper Flowers, based on the viral HuffPost piece “Thank You, Cancer,” opens in theaters August 21. The film tells the true story of Shalin Shah, a USC grad who left his family’s expectations behind to join the Peace Corps in Peru. But a persistent cough changed everything.

Shah was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. Forced to return home, he found himself rethinking what it means to live when time runs short. Surrounded by family, his girlfriend Fiona, and close friends, he began writing about gratitude, love, and mortality.

His essay went viral. Now director Mahesh Pailoor has turned Shah’s story into a feature starring Kapil Talwalkar, Olivia Liang, Faran Tahir, and Tom Everett Scott. The script comes from Pailoor, Mary Krell-Oishi, and producer Asit Vyas.

The film runs 100 minutes and is an AV Entertainment production. It’s the kind of story that reminds you why small moments matter, and why we tell stories about lives cut short but lived fully.

Stanley Kwan’s unconventional masterpiece is back, and it looks better than ever.

“Center Stage,” the Hong Kong New Wave director’s kaleidoscopic portrait of tragic 1930s screen siren Ruan Lingyu, opens August 7 at Film Forum in a new 4K restoration. Maggie Cheung stars as the actress known as the “Greta Garbo of China,” who took her own life at 24 after Shanghai tabloids turned her private struggles into public spectacle.

Kwan doesn’t play it straight. The film weaves lush period drama with archival footage and documentary sequences where Cheung herself reflects on Ruan’s legacy. It’s intimate and metatextual, a biopic that constantly questions what we can actually know about someone’s life.

The restoration was scanned from the original 35mm negative in Hong Kong and digitally restored in Bologna, with Kwan overseeing the final color correction.

Cheung won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at Berlin for the role. Thirty-five years later, critics still call it one of her finest performances and one of the great Chinese films of its era.

Kwan will appear in person opening weekend for Q&As. The weeklong run goes through August 13.

Mental health nonprofit To Write Love on Her Arms is celebrating two decades of work with a documentary screening at Vans Warped Tour Long Beach on July 24.

The screening happens at the Art Theater of Long Beach from 7-8PM, followed by a conversation with TWLOHA founder Jamie Tworkowski and Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman. All ticket proceeds fund mental health care through the organization’s Treatment & Recovery Program, with a goal of covering 20,000 hours of care.

The documentary, “To Write Love,” features conversations with Paramore, Miley Cyrus, Anberlin, and Switchfoot, along with people whose lives the organization has touched. It tracks how TWLOHA grew from a single story into a movement that’s reached millions.

“What you experience in this film is a true picture of what happens when thousands of people start to believe that it’s not weak to ask for help,” says Executive Director Lindsay Kolsch.

Since launching in 2006, TWLOHA has donated over $4.7 million directly into treatment and recovery. The organization now connects more than 3,000 people monthly to mental health resources and reaches over 9.5 million people online each month across 100 countries.

The screening ties the nonprofit back to its roots in the alternative music community, where it became a trusted voice on mental health long before these conversations went mainstream.

The man behind some of horror cinema’s most unforgettable scores is hitting the road again. Fabio Frizzi, the Italian composer who defined the sound of Lucio Fulci’s cult horror films, just announced a massive fall tour across the U.S. and Canada.

Frizzi 2 Fulci kicks off September 23 in Brooklyn and runs through mid-October, hitting 15 cities including Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Denver, and Vancouver. Ethan Lee McCarthy will support on select dates.

If you know The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, or Zombie 2, you know Frizzi’s work. His atmospheric, progressive rock-infused scores helped shape Italian genre cinema in the ’70s and ’80s. Quentin Tarantino famously borrowed the main theme from Seven Notes in Black for Kill Bill: Vol. 1.

The Frizzi 2 Fulci project started on Halloween 2013 at London’s Union Chapel and has been touring ever since. This will be the band’s eleventh U.S. run. The lineup includes longtime members Riccardo Rocchi, Alessio Contorni, and Francesco Saguto, with Dave Neabore on bass and Christopher Hawkind on drums.

For anyone who grew up on VHS horror or discovered Fulci through midnight screenings, this is your chance to experience those scores live. Tickets and full tour info at fabiofrizzi.com.

Justin Price’s cyberpunk action thriller *Kill Code* drops digitally July 24th, and it’s got Harvey Keitel’s stamp of approval. The veteran actor reportedly called Price “the next Ridley Scott.”

The film paints a grim future where a corrupt corporation replaces prisons with a twisted survival system. Criminals become enforcers, infected with a nano-virus distributed through watches, forced to kill each other for freedom. Keitel plays Eion Prescott, the nanoscientist behind it all. When cyber-operative Elera (Franzi Schissler) discovers the truth, she rebels against her creator to stop the system from enslaving humanity.

Price, co-founder of Powell & Price Productions, built his career from the ground up. Raised in the American South, he crafted DIY cameras and taught himself filmmaking by studying the masters. His credits include *Wawa: The Sandman’s Kingdom* and *I Heart Robots*. The cast rounds out with Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, and Jacob Artist.

Quiver Distribution is releasing the 87-minute thriller. For independent filmmakers grinding to build immersive worlds on their own terms, Price’s trajectory, and Keitel’s co-sign, proves the hustle pays off.

Remember Pat? The androgynous SNL character that had everyone guessing in the ’90s? A new documentary digs into what happened when that joke stopped being funny.

“We Are Pat,” directed by Rowan Haber, revisits Julia Sweeney’s iconic creation through a modern lens. The film started at Tribeca last year, ran theatrically in May, and just hit digital platforms this week.

Here’s the hook: Haber assembled an all-trans writers’ room and challenged them to create a new 2025 Pat sketch. The doc features trans comedians like Molly Kearney, Abby McEnany, and River Gallo taking on a character that once excluded them.

Sweeney herself wasn’t sure what to expect. “I was interviewed over several years for this documentary, never knowing if it would be sympathetic or problematic,” she said. “Much like Pat, Pat-self, the documentary holds both at the same time.”

The film also includes Harper Steele, the former SNL head writer who came out as trans, and interviews with Kevin Nealon plus a lineup of trans comics reshaping the narrative.

Alan Cumming executive produced alongside Lilly Wachowski and a stack of other indie champions. Emmy winner Caryn Capotosto produced.

For indie filmmakers tackling cultural artifacts that haven’t aged well, this is a masterclass in how to reopen the conversation without trying to erase it.

Indie filmmaker Justin Price is taking a swing at cyberpunk with “Kill Code,” a dystopian action thriller hitting digital platforms July 24th.

The film imagines a grimy future where a corporation has weaponized the prison system, forcing convicts to become enforcers through deadly nano-virus tech. Harvey Keitel plays the nanoscientist pulling the strings, while Franzi Schissler stars as a cyber-operative who turns on her creator after uncovering the truth behind the system. Frank Grillo and Tyrese Gibson round out the cast.

Price, who co-founded Powell & Price Productions, wrote and directed the project. He’s built a reputation for DIY hustle and high-concept storytelling, reportedly earning praise from Keitel as “the next Ridley Scott.” His previous films include “I Heart Robots” and “Omega.”

At 87 minutes, “Kill Code” looks like a lean, mean genre ride. Quiver Distribution is handling the release, continuing their focus on talent-driven indie fare alongside studio projects.

The trailer just dropped, and it’s clear Price is swinging for the fences with this one. For indie filmmakers trying to carve out space in the crowded action-thriller landscape, this is the kind of ambition that matters.

A dystopian detective story is coming to Nintendo’s new console. Observer: System Redux is now available on Nintendo Switch 2, bringing Bloober Team’s cyberpunk horror to players on the go.

The game drops you into 2084, where cyber-plague has ravaged humanity and corporations rule everything. You play Daniel Lazarski, a detective hunting for his missing son. The twist? You can hack into the minds of the dead using a device called the Dream Eater.

This is Rutger Hauer’s final performance. The Blade Runner legend voices Lazarski in what turned out to be his last role before passing.

The Switch 2 version takes advantage of the new hardware. You get optional mouse controls via Joy-Con 2 for tighter aiming, motion controls for extra immersion, and handheld mode if you want to take the investigation anywhere. Dock it and you get the best visuals.

Nintendo Life gave it a 9/10, calling it “an excellent sci-fi murder mystery” and noting the Switch 2 version might be the best way to experience the game.

Observer: System Redux is available now in the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop for $39.99. There’s a 20% launch discount running for a limited time.

For horror game devs watching Bloober Team’s moves, this is another example of how atmospheric storytelling can thrive on Nintendo platforms.

The Beverly Hills Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 27th edition after wrapping a massive 2026 run that drew 58,000 attendees across eight days.

This year’s festival screened 450+ films from over 70 countries, expanded its programming with industry panels and networking events, and took over major LA venues including TCL Chinese Theatres and The Beverly Hilton.

BHFF is calling for features, shorts, docs, animation, and screenplays across all genres. Founder Nino Simone says they’re looking for films that “challenge, inspire, entertain, and move audiences.”

The festival continues to prove its value as a launchpad. Alumni Curry Barker, who screened his short Contemplation at BHFF in 2021, just saw his feature Obsession break out in Hollywood. Other recent BHFF films like I’m Only Blind, Hello Beautiful, Sheep Dog, and Where Sweet Dreams Die have all landed distribution deals or Oscar qualification.

For indie filmmakers looking to connect with the industry, BHFF offers direct access to producers, distributors, and executives in the heart of the entertainment capital. Submissions are open now via FilmFreeway, and early submission is recommended as the festival’s international reach keeps growing.