''Paper Flower'' is a short narrative film by

Toy Gun Films Toy Gun Films is a production company that is in the process of developing a diverse slate of art house films. The company believes that just like a toy gun Toy guns are toys which imitate real guns, but are designed for recreational sport ...

that was premiered in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in February 2011. It was first shown in the U.S. at the

Beverly Hills Film Festival The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is a film festival in the United States founded in 2001 by independent filmmaker Nino Simone. The festival is an international competition dedicated to showcasing the art and talent of emerging filmmakers a ...

on April 8, 2011. ''Paper Flower'' was directed by

Brent Ryan Green Brent Ryan Green (born March 19, 1984) is an American film director and producer. Career Green has produced several films, the first of which was Beyond the Gates of Splendor (2002). In January 2009, Green founded Toy Gun Films with Jeff Goldbe ...

, written by Jeff Goldberg, and produced by Toy Gun Film
Toy Gun Films
The cinematographer was Thomas Marvel and the music was composed by Aska Matsumiya

Your Enemies Friends Your Enemies Friends is a post-hardcore rock band that formed in late 2001 in Los Angeles, California. They have shared the stage with bands such as ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Blonde Redhead, The Icarus Line, TV on the Radio, T ...

. The film was inspired by a collection of true stories surrounding the issue of ''Enjo-kōsai'' (援助交際) or compensated dating and

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

that families face throughout

. ''Paper Flower'' focuses on the friendship of two childhood friends growing up in Tokyo where a casual form of prostitution known as compensated dating has become a disturbing trend. When they each experience heartbreaking losses, they are forced to decide how much of themselves they are willing to give in order to find true love.

Plot

Asuka (Anna Ishibashi) and her best childhood friend, Michi (Ayami Kakiuchi), are young girls who live in the fast, savvy city of Tokyo, where being fashionable is not a social cliché, but a social requirement. Although the girls are leading two different kinds of lives, they find they must decide how much of themselves they must give up in order to find true love. The film follows the story of Asuka as she compromises herself in order to get what she thinks she wants, but instead, she finds something entirely different that she never knew she wanted or needed.

Cast

Anna Ishibashi is a Japanese actress and model. Career Ishibashi starred in Ryuichi Hiroki's ''Your Friend'' in 2008. She was given a Best New Talent award at the 2008 Yokohama Film Festival. She appeared in Koji Maeda's ''Cannonball Wedlock'' in 2011. Film ...

- Asuka * Ayami Kakiuchi - Michi * Yasunari Takeshima - Toru (Asuka’s father) * Asuka Kurosawa - Reiko (Asuka’s mother) * Kenichi Takitoh - Kiyoshi (Michi’s father) * Mariko Tsutsui - Masami (Michi’s mother) * Yoshiyuki Morishita - Ukita (Businessman) * Jurie Takeda - Young Asuka * Shunya Tajima - Adult Man

Festivals

''Paper Flower'' has been officially selected for: *Beverly Hills Film Festival 2010 *

DeadCENTER Film Festival The deadCENTER Film Festival was founded in 2001 in Oklahoma City. The festival was named "deadCENTER" because it is located in the exact center of the United States. Although presenting over a hundred films, and an international assemblage of film ...

*New Filmmakers Film Festival *Showbiz Expo *Mosaic Film Festival of Los Angeles - won 1st Place of Best Short Film and Audience Choice Awards *The Film Festival of Colorado *Breckenridge Film Festival - won Best Spiritual *The Indie Fest - won Merit Award for Short Film and Direction *

San Antonio Film Festival The SAFILM – San Antonio Film Festival was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival, which sported a logo of a naughty-looking angel. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the SAFILM – San An ...

*Transforming Stories International Christian Film Festival *Indie Gathering International Film Festival - won 4th Place, *Accolade Competition - won Award of Merit for Short Film *Texas International Film Festival *Ruby Mountain Film Festival *3rd Inigo International Film Festival *HollyShorts Film Festival *Williamsburg International Film Festival *Route 66 International Film Festival *SoCal Film Festival - Honorable Mention *Heartland Truly Moving Pictures Film Festival *Miami Short Film Festival *Tallgrass International Film Festival

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1826806, Paper Flower 2011 films 2011 drama films 2011 short films 2010s Japanese-language films American drama short films Japanese short films Japanese drama films Films produced by Brent Ryan Green Films set in Tokyo Films directed by Brent Ryan Green 2010s American films 2010s Japanese films