Jackie Chan's The Foreigner in Pittsburgh, from October 12.

Jackie Chan's forthcoming movie The Foreigner will open in Pittsburgh, and throughout the US, on October 12. A plot summary, from the official site:

The film tells the story of humble London businessman Quan (Chan), whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism.

In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat- and-mouse conflict with a British government official (Brosnan), whose own past may hold clues to the identities of the elusive killers

The movie will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater and tickets are currently available online. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

"The Politics of Imagining Asia in the Americas: The Global Contours of Orientalism and Yellow Peril in Early 20th Century Peru" at Pitt, October 5.

The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Latin American Studies and the Asian Studies Center will host Ana Maria Candela of Binghamton University and her talk "The Politics of Imagining Asia in the Americas: The Global Contours of Orientalism and Yellow Peril in Early 20th Century Peru" on October 5.

AccuWeather hiring Data Analyst (International Strategy) – Location Management (emphasis on Korea and China) for State College headquarters.

AccuWeather is hiring a Data Analyst (International Strategy) – Location Management, with an emphasis on Korea and China, to work out of its State College headquarters.

The Data Analyst (International Strategy) – Location Management focuses on integrating location-based data into AccuWeather’s corporate location management database. As a member of the location management team, this position will interface with internal and external customers to produce high quality datasets used by many of AccuWeather’s industry leading products. This position will focus primarily on updates, maintenance, and integration of new data for our international strategy projects. Specific areas of focus will include but not be limited to China and South Korea. Close coordination with AccuWeather’s international teams and country managers will be required.

Additional information available via the AccuWeather website.

K-Pop Dance Practice, October 1 in Squirrel Hill.

A reader sends word of her next K-Pop Dance Group practice, scheduled for Sunday, October 1 in Squirrel Hill.

We are a group of 6 active members now! We get together twice a month on Sundays to practice dancing in Squirrel Hill and have fun! We are LeVeL! you don't need to be a fantastic dancer.

The practice runs from 12:00 to 3:00 pm at Win-Win Kung Fu on Murray Ave. (map). For information about other local dance groups, check out PITT FRESA and the CMU K-Pop Dance Club.

No Game No Life Zero (ノーゲーム・ノーライフ ゼロ) in Pittsburgh, October 5 and 8.

The upcoming Japanese anime No Game No Life Zero (ノーゲーム・ノーライフ ゼロ) will play at Cinemark theaters in the Pittsburgh area on October 5th and 8th. A synopsis from the distributor:

Six thousand years before Sora and Shiro were even a blink in the history of Disboard, war consumed the land, tearing apart the heavens, destroying stars, and even threatening to wipe out the human race. Amid the chaos and destruction, a young man named Riku leads humanity toward the tomorrow his heart believed in. One day, in the ruins of an Elf city, he meets Shuvi, a female exiled "Ex-machina" android who asks him to teach her what it means to have a human heart. In select movie theatres nationwide, this two-day event also includes exclusive content featuring special footage of members of the cast and crew of No Game No Life Zero.

The October 5 show will be subtitled and the October 8 dubbed. The movie is set to play at the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson.

Pittsburgh to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai roundtrip for $500.

A Thrillist article on the 27th reports on the phenomenon of round-trip flights to and from China being cheaper than many domestic ones. Pittsburgh is among the places with surprisingly cheap flights to and from large Chinese cities at the moment.



According to Google Flights, a ticket from Pittsburgh to Chengdu on October 18th with an October 28 return will cost $498 round-trip. Same for Beijing. And same for a trip to Shanghai, but if you don't want a 34-hour trip, you'll have to pay an extra $135 to get there in half the time.

Book talks with Michael Meyer—author of Last Days of Old Beijing, In Manchuria, and the forthcoming The Road to Sleeping Dragon—in Pittsburgh, October 10.

Author and University of Pittsburgh professor Michael Meyer will give two local book talks on October 10 to mark the release of his forthcoming book, The Road to Sleeping Dragon, to be released the same day. From 1:00 to 2:30 pm, he will speak and sign copies of his book at the University of Pittsburgh, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room (map). From 7:00 to 8:00 pm he will appear at the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley (map).

In 1995, at the age of twenty-three, Michael Meyer joined the Peace Corps and, after rejecting offers to go to seven other countries, was sent to a tiny town in Sichuan. Knowing nothing about China, or even how to use chopsticks, Meyer wrote Chinese words up and down his arms so he could hold conversations, and, per a Communist dean’s orders, jumped into teaching his students about the Enlightenment, the stock market, and Beatles lyrics. Soon he realized his Chinese counterparts were just as bewildered by the country’s changes as he was. With humor and insight, Meyer puts readers in his novice shoes, winding across the length and breadth of his adopted country -- from a terrifying bus attack on arrival, to remote Xinjiang and Tibet, and his future wife's Manchurian family, and into efforts to protect China's heritage at places like "Sleeping Dragon," the world's largest panda preserve.

In the last book of his China trilogy, Meyer tells a story both deeply personal and universal, as he gains greater – if never complete – assurance, capturing what it feels like to learn a language, culture and history from the ground up. Meyer will recount his 20-year journey via photographs, as well as talking about the challenges of reporting from China and how a freelance writer can fund and produce books that reach a wide audience.

AEON interviews in Pittsburgh for EFL teaching positions in Japan, October 21.

AEON (株式会社イーオン), a large chain of English schools in Japan, is holding in-person interviews for prospective teachers throughout the United States from September through December, and will be interviewing in Pittsburgh on October 21. Those interested should submit applications online by October 9.

Journey to the West Book Series Debut, October 4 in Squirrel Hill.

A pair of local authors are releasing a series of books aimed at learners of Chinese that retells the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, and an event celebrating its release will be held on October 4 in Squirrel Hill.

Anime Series at Row House Cinema, September 29 through October 5.

Four films will comprise the latest Anime Series at Row House Cinema from September 29 through October 5: 2015's Boy and the Beast (バケモノの子), 1987's Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼), 2003's Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ), and the Pittsburgh premiere of Napping Princess (ひるね姫 〜知らないワタシの物語〜 ).



A September 7 Los Angeles Times review summarizes the latter, from the writer-director of Ghost in the Shell:

High school junior Kokone Morikawa (voiced by Mitsuki Takahata), the heroine of the animated Japanese film “Napping Princess,” would rather spend the summer dozing and looking after her widowed mechanic father than watching the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which are only a few days off. But she finds herself caught up in two intertwined adventures: A fantasy based on the stories her father told her as a little girl, in which she must defend the Kingdom of Heartland, and an all-too-real case of industrial espionage tied to the Olympic ceremonies. Aided by her sensible friend Morio Sawatari (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), Kokone must find a way to overcome the interlocking threats.

Tickets and showtime information is available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

2017 Takashi Miike film Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人) in Pittsburgh, from November 3.

The 2017 Takashi Miike film Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont from November 3, the theater announced today.

2017 Korean movie The Villainess (악녀) at Parkway Theater, from September 29.

The 2017 South Korean movie The Villainess (악녀), starring Kim Ok-bin, will play at the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks from September 29. The distributor provides a summary:

Bloody revenge is at the heart of this stylish, kinetic action-thriller that gives a welcome shot of adrenaline to the classic femme fatale story. Honed from childhood into a merciless killing machine by a criminal organization, assassin Sook-hee is recruited as a sleeper agent with the promise of freedom after ten years of service - and she jumps at the chance for a normal life. But soon enough, secrets from her past destroy everything she’s worked for, and now nobody can stand in her way as she embarks on a roaring rampage of revenge.

Showtime and ticket information has not yet been announced. The newly-renovated theater is located at 644 Broadway Ave. in McKees Rocks (map).

From Madness to Medicine in Japanese Culture conference, September 28 and 29 at Pitt; documentary Does Your Soul Have a Cold?, September 27.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host the From Madness to Medicine in Japanese Culture conference on September 28 and 29, with a screening of the 2007 documentary Does Your Soul Have a Cold? on the 27th.

This symposium brings together a group of scholars from across the disciplines of anthropology, film, history, literature, the performing arts, and religious studies to interrogate the meanings of mental illness as they have been defined and transformed throughout Japanese history. Our intention is to bring intensive scrutiny to the particular cultural case of Japan. We begin with the premise that mental illnesses are in part cultural constructs, ones that have been the subject of interest and concern from earliest times. By engaging scholars across disciplines, we hope to identify places where disciplinary boundaries often limit our understanding of key concepts used to characterize behavioral anomalies, concepts like madness (kyōki 狂気), insanity (kichigai 気違い) mental illness (seishinbyō 精神病), and mental disability (seishin shōgai 精神障害). Further, we look not simply at the contemporary moment, but the historical layers that have contributed to Japanese descriptions of mental health, layers which inherently underpin and complicate modern terminologies, nosologies, and medical practices. We are interested in tracing how ideas about mental health emerged and were described, as well has how they influenced treatments throughout Japanese history. Some of the questions we explore are as follows: How have the Japanese defined and treated those whose mental states are not “healthy”? How have Japan’s interactions with other cultures and other cultural models affected definitions of mental health and illness? How can we see Japan’s historical experience with “mental health” as a touchstone in understanding the vital culturally specific dimensions to biological models of mental health and illness so universally prevalent today? How is globalizing biomedical ideas adapted and interpreted in distinctive ways in Japan?

The documentary will run from 7:30 to 9:30 pm in room G24 of the Cathedral of Learning. The conference's sessions will be held in the University Club's Gold Room (map). A full schedule of presenters is available online. All sessions are free and open to the public, though RSVP is required for lunch.

New Chinese films Chasing the Dragon (追龍), Youth (芳华) opening in Pittsburgh on September 29.

Two new Chinese movies will open in Pittsburgh before they open in China. Both the gangster biopic Chasing the Dragon (追龍), starring Donnie Yen and Andy Lau, and the coming-of-age drama Youth (芳华) will play in Pittsburgh from September 29.

The distributor provides a summary of Chasing the Dragon (追龍), now set to open in China on October 5:

Donnie Yen stars as infamous real-life drug kingpin Crippled Ho, who came to Hong Kong an illegal immigrant in 1963 and ruthlessly carved an empire from the chaotic underworld of drug dealers and corrupt police that ruled the city under notorious detective Lee Rock (Andy Lau.

A September 9 Variety review introduces Youth, opening in China on October 1:

The narrator Suizi (Zhong Chuxi), a stand-in for screenwriter Yan Geling (“The Flowers of War” and “Coming Home”), whose semi-biographical novel was the film’s literary source, belongs to a military dance troupe stationed in the Great Southwest. However, the central figure is actually Xiaoping (Miao Miao), whose father has been branded a Rightist and thrown in a re-education camp. She is recruited from Beijing by the good-looking and kind-hearted lead dancer Liu Feng (Huang Xuan).

The pristine surroundings of their training center and dreamy soft focus that accompanies the young dancers whenever they rehearse revolutionary ballets exude a rarefied atmosphere that reinforces how privileged the troupe is, shielded from hunger, violence and back-breaking labor at the height of the Cultural Revolution. And yet, a hierarchy based on political pedigree is firmly in place in the so-called classless society. Shuwen (Li Xiaofeng) the daughter of a general and hospital supervisor, is the queen bee. Dingding (Yang Caiyu) scores with her looks, while Mongolian Drolma (Sui Yuan) plays her ethnic minority card.

Tickets and showtime information is available via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Chinese musical film City of Rock (缝纫机乐队) in Pittsburgh, from October 6.

The upcoming Chinese musical movie City of Rock (缝纫机乐队) will play in the US, and in Pittsburgh at AMC Loews Waterfrontm from October 6. The distributor provides a summary:

Da Peng’s (Pancake Man aka Jiang Bing Man) highly anticipated sophomore film, CITY OF ROCK, follows Hu Liang, a young man from a small town in China, who wants to protect the town’s treasured Rock Park from redevelopment by a corporate real estate agent. Hoping to save the park by organizing a charity rock concert, he partners with music agent Cheng Gong. But when he’s offered a large payout to cancel the concert, will Hu Liang choose money or will he save the beloved town park?

Tickets and showtime information have not yet been announced. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2014 Korean movie Sea Fog (해무) at Carnegie Library in Oakland, October 1.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's main branch in Oakland will show the 2014 Korean movie Sea Fog (해무) on October 1 as next month's installment of International Cinema Sunday.

South Korean band 57 (밴드57) in Pittsburgh, October 29.

via @duo57.

The Jeonju-based rock duo 57 (오칠, pronounced "oh chill") will play in Pittsburgh on October 29, part of their North American tour in support of Barb Wire Dolls and Svetlanas. 57 is composed of guitarist Yun Junhong and drummer Sur Kim.

Doors for the all-ages show at Mr. Smalls in Millvale (map) at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online from $13.

English/Japanese Language Social Hour, September 27 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and the English Language Institute will present an English/Japanese Language Social Hour on September 27, as a way to bring together Japanese ESL students and Pitt students learning Japanese. It runs from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map), and will feature ELI students from Yasuda Women's University in Hiroshima. Refreshments will be provided, and the Social Hour is free and open to the public.

JET Program Information Session, September 27 at Pitt.

For those considering the JET Program as a way to teach English in Japan after graduation, the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center is hosting a free JET Program Information Session on September 27.

Snow Park (冰雪公园) Thai rolled ice cream opening in Oakland on September 21, offering buy-one-get-one free.

Snow Park (冰雪公园) is opening tomorrow, September 21, inside TOP Shabu Shabu, and is offering a buy-one-get-one free special to mark the occasion. TOP Shabu Shabu is located at 114 Atwood St. in Oakland (map).

Korean and Japanese movies highlight second half of Silk Screen Film Festival, through September 23.

The annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival runs this year from September 16 through 24, with several East Asian films getting a second screening this week.

Japanese horror film Ring (リング) at Row House Cinema, October 21.

The classic Japanese horror film Ring (リング) will play at the Row House Cinema at midnight on October 21.

When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) sets out to investigate.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for Row House Film Club members, but are not yet available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Volume 7 of Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan launch, September 20 and 21 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh will host two events to mark the launch of the next volume of Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan. On September 20, "A Conversation on Translation Studies", from 3:00 to 4:30 pm in room 501 of the Cathedral of Learning (map). And on September 21, "Contemporary Authors Discuss Their Writing", in room 324 in the Cathedral. The events are free and open to the public.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) in Pittsburgh area theaters, September 24 and 25.

The 1984 Studio Ghibli animated film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) will play at several area theaters on September 24 and 25 as part of the 2017 GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest. A synopsis, from the distributor:

The debut film from Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is considered by many to be his masterwork — and there are few films, animated or otherwise, of such sweeping scope and grandeur. Set in a devastated future world decimated by atmospheric poisons and swarming with gigantic insects, Nausicaä is the story of a young princess, both brave and innocent, whose love for all living things and passionate determination to understand the processes of nature lead her into terrible danger, sacrifice, and eventual triumph.

Like most Studio Ghibli films, there is neither good nor evil, but conflicting viewpoints, weaknesses, and power struggles. Throughout the film, Miyazaki’s animation is awe-inspiring; the depiction of the poisoned forest in particular is a thing of transcendent beauty. Once the hallucinogenic strangeness of shape and color has been accepted, there is light, growth and life everywhere. Huge dragonfly-like creatures are accompanied by wonderful, evocative sounds of flight and movement. The lethal fungus plants glow, shimmer and shed spores like silent gleaming snowfalls. This is a film not to be missed.

The English-dubbed version will play on the 24th at the Monroeville, Monaca, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills theaters, and the English-subtitled version will play on the 25th.

DialAmerica hiring part-time Korean-English bilingual call center sales representative.

DialAmerica is hiring a part-time Korean-English bilingual call center sales representative for its downtown Pittsburgh office.

As a Call Center Sales Representative, you will ensure a memorable customer service experience by using questioning and listening skills to determine the customer’s needs and help them select the appropriate products and services.

Specific duties for this CSR role include:

• Answering customer requests or inquiries
• Upselling products and/or services to the customer
• Identifying and resolving customers’ issues using problem-solving skills
• Building a positive rapport across a variety of personality types
• Continually maintaining a working knowledge of our clients’ products, services and promotions
• Putting the customer first and remaining polite and professional at all times
• Documenting all customer information, communications and sales in CRM system

Donnie Yen and Andy Lau in Chasing the Dragon (追龍), in Pittsburgh from September 29.

The upcoming Hong Kong / Chinese film Chasing the Dragon (追龍) will play in Pittsburgh from September 29. The distributor provides a summary of the movie starring Donnie Yen and Andy Lau:

Donnie Yen stars as infamous real-life drug kingpin Crippled Ho, who came to Hong Kong an illegal immigrant in 1963 and ruthlessly carved an empire from the chaotic underworld of drug dealers and corrupt police that ruled the city under notorious detective Lee Rock (Andy Lau).

The movie will play at AMC Loews Waterfront, but tickets and showtime information is not yet available. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Operation Mekong (湄公河行动) at Pitt, September 22.

Pitt's Chinese Language & Culture Club will show the 2016 movie Operation Mekong (湄公河行动) on September 22.

Mother (마더), Okja, and The Host (괴물) at Row House Cinema's Bong Joon-ho film series in November.

The Row House Cinema presents its first film series by a Korean filmmaker, with 2009's Mother (마더), the 2017 Netflix release Okja, and 2006's hit The Host (괴물) comprising a Bong Joon-ho film series from November 3 through 9. Tickets and showtime information have not yet been announced. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

"Mandarin Chat Time: What's Your Name" at Carnegie Library West End branch, September 22.

The West End branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will hold three "Mandarin Chat Time" Chinese language and culture lessons on three consecutive Fridays starting September 22. The first lesson is "What's Your Name":

We hope you can join us for the first of three Chinese cultural programs at CLP-West End! Our first event will introduce patrons to basic, everyday Chinese greetings and we will learn the meanings of people’s Chinese names. Each attendee will learn what their name is in Chinese based, of course, on their original name.

2016 Hong Kong movie Sisterhood (骨妹) at ReelQ Pittsburgh LGBT Film Festival, October 19.

The 2016 Hong Kong movie Sisterhood (骨妹) will play in Pittsburgh at the 32nd annual ReelQ Pittsburgh LGBT Film Festival on October 19. A South China Morning Post review summarizes the film:

Fifteen years after she moved to Taiwan to marry a hostel owner, Macau-raised orphan Sei (Gigi Leung Wing-kei) remains haunted by her abrupt breakup with best friend Ling around the turn of the millennium. When news of Ling’s death arrives, Sei, now a chronic alcoholic, finally decides to travel back to her hometown and piece together their intimate past together in the late 1990s.

The movie will play at 7:30 pm at the Harris Theater in the downtown Cultural District (map). Tickets are available online at $9 for adults and $6 for students.