2026 Hong Kong film Night King (夜王) in Pittsburgh, from February 20.

The 2026 Hong Kong film Night King (夜王) will play in Pittsburgh from February 20.

The year is 2012. The once-glamourous Club EJ suddenly experiences a hostile takeover. Much like the nightclub industry, the glory days are over for the club’s manager, Foon (Dayo Wong), despite having stood tall in East Tsim Sha Tsui for decades. To make things worse for Foon, the club’s new CEO is none other than his cutthroat ex-wife, Madame V (Sammi Cheng)! Determined to change things up, she leaves Foon and his hostesses with no choice but to transform and modernize in order to breathe new life into their business. Little did they know, a powerful conglomerate had been pulling the strings all along to shut down Club EJ for good. To save their neon empire, Foon and V must join forces and make an epic last stand with the hostesses against what seems to be inevitable doom.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Zhang Yimou's Scare Out (惊蛰无声) remains in Pittsburgh through February 25.

The 2026 Chinese movie Scare Out (惊蛰无声), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 17 for the Chinese New Year, will remain here through (at least) February 25.

A major breach of China’s classified intelligence triggers an urgent response from a national security unit, determined to expose the traitor behind it. However, successive arrest missions suffer severe setbacks, driving tensions ever higher. As the investigation deepens, suspicion unexpectedly turns inward—toward members of the task force itself. Caught in a vortex of trust and betrayal, a silent struggle quietly unfolds.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

2026 Chinese martial arts film Blades of the Guardians (镖人：风起大漠) stays in Pittsburgh through February 25.

The 2026 Chinese martial arts film Blades of the Guardians (镖人：风起大漠), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 16 to coincide with Chinese New Year, will stay here through (at least) February 25.

Dao Ma, the "second most wanted fugitive," who is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of Mo family clan, to take on a mysterious escort mission-escorting the "most wanted fugitive," to Chang'an.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Peel teahouse soft opening in Squirrel Hill, February 20.

Peel, a new teahouse in Squirrel Hill, is soft opening from Friday, February 20.

Peel is soft opening this Friday 2/20/26, 12pm - 11pm!! on 2nd floor @ 5806 Forbes Ave

We’re beta testing so free tea after 8pm on Fri in exchange 4 ur thoughts, come hang 🌀🌀🌀

*We’ll be in beta testing/soft open mode for the next two weeks for us to find grounding, hours are as follows:

Mon to Tue: closed
Wed to Thurs: 12pm- 10pm
Fri to Sun: 12pm - 11pm

Signage went up for the Chinese-owned place in January, though work has been underway for nearly a year.  It is located at 5806 Forbes Ave., second floor, above Uncle Sam's (map). The text on social media, and the front-door signage, says Peel

is a (tea)house for drinks, eats, inquiries & play

Bring Lunar New Year Wishes to Squirrel Hill's Trees in 2026.

Due to the dangers presented to Pittsburgh's Asian communities by ICE and right-wing citizens, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition has cancelled the Lunar New Year Parade that sometimes passes through the neighborhood (last held in 2023). However, it has launched a "Bring Lunar New Year Wishes to Squirrel Hill's Trees" initiative to celebrate the holiday and the Asian businesses and residents that comprise much of its vibrancy. From the latest Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition newsletter:

In light of recent events directly impacting the safety and well-being of our
migrant and immigrant community members and allies, we have made the
difficult decision to cancel our Squirrel Hill Lunar New Year Celebration
to ensure the safety of all who would attend. However, this does not mean
we will stop celebrating the beautiful traditions that enrich our community.

A Different Tradition: Bring Lunar New Year Wishes to
Squirrel Hill's Trees
For years, students at a local school have observed the beautiful Lunar New
Year tradition of each child writing two wishes on red tags. One wish is for
themselves and one is for the community. The tags are hung from trees around
their school. As one wise 4th grader put it, it's a way to say to our Asian
community, "We see you, we appreciate you, and we think you're awesome!"
This Lunar New Year, let's spread this tradition across all of Squirrel Hill! In
honor and celebration with our Asian neighbors, let’s fill the trees throughout
Squirrel Hill with bright red tags carrying wishes of prosperity, health, and joy
for the year ahead! Thanks to Mardi Isler’s tireless work expanding our tree
canopy, we have plenty of trees ready to bloom with good wishes and
community solidarity.
How to participate:
● SHUC will have red Lunar New Year tags available for pickup at the Silk
Elephant or the SHUC Office. Email mcohen@shuc.org if you'd like to
volunteer to help distribute them throughout our neighborhood
● You can also start this tradition on your own! Hang red tags with wishes
on trees in your neighborhood and share the tradition with neighbors!
● Need tags? Click here to find red Lunar New Year tags on Amazon

All-you-can-eat sushi place Umiya coming to Squirrel Hill, in former Eat n' Park (and failed Kpot) spot.

An all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant called Umiya will be coming to Squirrel Hill, in the former Eat n' Park spot where a Kpot hot pot restaurant was "coming soon" for a few years before abandoning the site. It will be located at 1816 Murray Ave. (map), which has been unoccupied since Eat n' Park left in early 2022.

I drove by the spot on May 28, 2023 as workers were putting up the Kpot banner, which allowed me to be the first to post about it (and have my photo used across local outlets without attribution, of course), but after no movement on the space for two years---not even old EnP furniture was moved---the banner came down and a For Lease sign went up in May 2025. All-you-can-eat Korean-style BBQ and Hot Pot restaurants were a Pittsburgh dining trend in 2023 and 2024, while all-you-can-eat sushi places and Asian buffets took off in the area in 2025 and 2026.

Upcoming documentary on baseball in Japan Homecoming: The Tokyo Series in Pittsburgh, February 23 and 24.

The 2026 documentary Homecoming: The Tokyo Series, referring to the Major League Baseball series played in Tokyo at the start of the 2025 season, will play in Pittsburgh from February 23 and 24.

Homecoming: The Tokyo Series explores Japan’s profound bond with baseball, culminating in the 2025 MLB Opening Day games in Tokyo, when hometown heroes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki, and Roki Sasaki return to the field where their journeys began. Through the lives of those shaped by the game, the film reveals how baseball bridges generations, shapes identity, and illuminates the connection between tradition and modern life. More than a chronicle of a sporting event, it is a portrait of a nation’s enduring love for baseball and the pride of watching its stars come home. Alongside the film, the filmmakers captured man-on-the-street interviews with American fans inside the Tokyo Dome who traveled to Japan for the games.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the AMC Westmoreland in Greensburg, the GQT Cinemas at the Pittsburgh Mills, and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, March 13 - 26.

The 2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival will run from March 13 through 26, and a selection of films have been announced. According to the festival's website,

The 2026 festival will put a special focus on the Cult Cinema of Japan through film selections and special events.

Films announced thus far for the 11th annual festival:

• Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル)
• Burst City (爆裂都市 BURST CITY)
• Desert of Namibia (ナミビアの砂漠)
• Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列)
• His Motorbike, Her Island (彼のオートバイ、彼女の島)
• House (ハウス)
• Kokuho (国宝)
• Lady Snowblood (修羅雪姫)
• Plastic
• Scarlet ( 果てしなきスカーレット)
• Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space 
• The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (夜は短し歩けよ乙女)

The Row House Cinema is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

Berry Fresh II opens in Oakland, in former Little Asia spot that was briefly going to be another Meetcha.

Photos via ownership on Google

Berry Fresh II, a second location of the Berry Fresh frozen yogurt spot in Squirrel Hill owned by Guobao An, recently opened in Oakland. It is located at 301 S. Craig St., in what was formerly Little Asia restaurant and what was briefly, according to license paperwork, going to be a second Meetcha location back in 2023-2024. 

PGHwrites: Jade Song’s “I Love You Don’t Die” (Book Launch), April 6 at City of Asylum and online.

City of Asylum will present a book launch event with Jade Song's I Love You Don't Die on April 6, part of its PGHwrites series.

Though many of us are still reeling from her explosive debut novel, Chlorine, a force like Jade Song cannot be stopped. We are thrilled to welcome Pittsburgh-native Jade back to City of Asylum for the launch of her sophomore novel, I Love You Don’t Die, a coming-of-age for a new generation, in the vein of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh.

Jade’s new work introduces us to a macabre young woman named Vicky. For as far back as she can remember, Vicky has been fascinated and obsessed with death as the only inevitable thing in life. From living above a Chinatown funeral parlor to working at a celebrity start-up for bespoke urns, she has surrounded herself with death—in her home, in her work, and in her ever-growing collection of zhizha, paper creations meant to be burned for the dead. When it comes to life and the living, however, she struggles to have meaningful connections—or find any meaning at all.

That changes when a dating app leads her into a throuple with an artist and a labor organizer, who offer exactly the kind of love she needs. For some time, it’s perfect, but no one understands better than Vicky that all things must end. With everything beginning to feel hollow and temporary, Vicky must decide how to keep moving forward. To try and hold on to what she has, or to once again do what she does best: destroy.

Please join Jade and program moderator Marina Fang after the reading for a public reception celebrating this hometown writing phenom!

You can purchase a copy of Jade’s book, I Love You Don’t Die, at City of Asylum Bookstore.

About the Author:

Jade Song is a writer, filmmaker, and artist whose first novel, Chlorine, was lauded as “visionary and disturbing,” selected as a New York Times Editor’s Choice, awarded the Alex Award and the Writer’s Center First Novel Prize, and translated into multiple languages. Jade’s short story collection, Ox Ghost Snake Demon, is forthcoming in early 2027. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Jade has taught writing at organizations like Tin House, Morbid Anatomy, and Lighthouse Writers Workshop; she has received support from the Vermont Studio Center and the Black List, which selected her adapted screenplay of Chlorine for its annual Writers Lab.

The event is moderated by Marina Fang.

The book launch event runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Alphabet City on the North Side (map) and online; it's free, but registration is required.