University of Pittsburgh hiring part-time instructors of Korean.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures is hiring part-time instructors of Korean.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures seeks part-time instructors of the Korean language starting Fall Term 2021. Duties include teaching recitation sections. Candidates must have native language proficiency in Korean, hold at least a Bachelor’s degree, and must have status to work on campus or for the University. Prior experience in teaching foreign languages and familiarity with language pedagogy or linguistics is highly preferred. Interested applicants should remit a CV and a cover letter. The position will be filled as soon as qualified candidates are found.

2021 film Chinese Doctors (中国医生) in Pittsburgh, from July 30.

The 2021 film Chinese Doctors (中国医生) will play in Pittsburgh from July 30.

‘Chinese Doctors’ (中国医生) is a 2021 Chinese drama directed by Andrew Lau.

Based on real life events, the film recounts the efforts of the Wuhan medical staff as they attempt to deal with the rising cases of Covid-19. The cast includes Zhang Hanyu, Yuan Quan, Zhu Yawen, Li Chen, Jackson Yee, Oho Ou, and Zhou Ye.

Fantuan / Just Order Enterprises Corp. (饭团) hiring Mandarin-speaking Business Development Specialist.

Just Order Enterprises (also known as Fantuan), is a delivery service catering to Asian restaurants and groceries that expanded to Pittsburgh last summer, is hiring a Mandarin-speaking Business Development Specialist.

Fantuan was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2014. With a mission of “life made easier,” the company is a one-stop platform providing food delivery (Fantuan Delivery), reviews (Fantuan Reviews), an errand service (Fantuan Rush), e-commerce and marketing services. Fantuan is one of the top Asian life-services platforms in North America, currently operating across Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Los Angeles, New York and other metropolitan areas in Canada and the US.

Job Title: Business Development Specialist #USHP

Job Responsibility:

1. Facing local merchants, understand the business status and needs of the merchants, combine the needs of consumers, select and design marketing and operation plans that fit for the merchants, negotiate and reach cooperation with the merchants, and promote the increase of merchant transaction volume.

2. Incorporate the company's marketing strategies, policies and marketing activities to independently accomplish performance goals.

3. According to the current market situation and customer response, the corresponding strategic direction is formulated through data analysis, and the value of cooperation with cooperative merchants is continuously improved to achieve a win-win situation between merchants and the platform.

4. Maintain new and old merchants, establish stable and high-value cooperative relations, and maintain long-term repurchases.

5. Cooperate with departments to process and feedback market information in a timely manner, improve operational efficiency, and improve user satisfaction.

Blackpink: The Movie, in Pittsburgh August 4 and 8.

The new concert film Blackpink: The Movie will play at several Pittsburgh-area theaters on August 4 and 8. From the distributor:

The girl group beloved by the world, ‘BLACKPINK’ celebrates the 5th anniversary of their debut with the release of BLACKPINK THE MOVIE, it is also a special gift for ‘BLINKs’—BLACKPINK’s beloved fandom—to revisit old memories and enjoy the passionate performances in the festive spirit. BLACKPINK—consisting of JISOO, JENNIE, ROSÉ, and LISA—has been growing explosively ever since they first stepped out into the world on August 8th, 2016, along with its fandom ‘BLINKs.’ As hectic as the past five years have been, all the memories, delights on the stage, and their shining moments have been wrapped ‘like a gift for all the fans’ in BLACKPINK THE MOVIE.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark Robinson and Cinemark Monroeville, and tickets are available online.

1954 film Godzilla (ゴジラ) at Row House Cinema, September 3 through 9.

The 1954 Japanese film Godzilla (ゴジラ) will play at the Row House Cinema from September 3 through 9.

Before Godzilla fought Kong or Mothra in 4K, he rose out of the sea and changed sci-fi films forever as an allegory for the follies of a nuclear world. We’re showing the very first film in the iconic franchise. See Ishirô Honda’s original smash hit classic that brought to life the unstoppable dinosaur-like creature hell-bent on destroying Tokyo.

It plays in Japanese with English subtitles, and tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street (map) in Lawrenceville.

Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Korean infielder Hoy Jun Park (박효준).

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired Hoy Jun Park (박효준), along with Diego Castillo, in a trade with the New York Yankees for Clay Holmes. He appeared in one game for the Yankees this year as a rookie, and has been playing well in the minors, if baseball experts are to be believed. If Park makes the Major League roster, he will be the third Korean in Pittsburgh Pirates history, after Chan-ho Park in 2010 and Jung-ho Kang from 2015 through 2019, though the Pirates have had several other Korean prospects and players in their system over the decades.

"Hoy" is how his name has been romanized, though the Korean corresponds to "Hyo" (효). Though I don't know the details of Park's name, inconsistencies like this do sometimes happen if a family member makes a mistake applying for a passport.

Documentary The Witches of the Orient, on Japanese women's volleyball team in the 50s and 60s, online via Row House Cinema from July 30.

The Row House Cinema will present the 2021 documentary The Witches of the Orient online from July 30.

How does a Japanese women’s volleyball team from the late 1950s become an international sensation, feminist role models, the subject of a wildly popular comic book and a still-influential anime?

This stranger-than-fiction story is dynamically told by Julien Faraut (JOHN McENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION), with an ironic twist on the original demeaning moniker, Oriental Witches. A group of Osaka textile workers are transformed into a fiercely competitive volleyball team by their astonishingly ruthless coach whose unconventional techniques emphasize speed and aggression. A record-setting winning streak and a dramatic 1964 Tokyo Olympics triumph follow. Wonderful archival footage of the women in training and on the court, animated versions of their championship games, and moving interviews with the women today are set to a pulsating electronic score.

It will be available to rent and view online from the 30th, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the single-screen theater in Lawrenceville.

Chengdu Gourmet to open North Hills location, moving into old Oriental Market spot.

by Laura Petrila for Pittsburgh Magazine.

Chengdu Gourmet will be opening a North Hills location next year, taking over the old Oriental Market storefront, writes Hal B. Klein in Pittsburgh Magazine.

Wei Zhu recently signed a lease to open a second location of his much-lauded Chengdu Gourmet restaurant. The 6000-square-foot restaurant will be located in the former Oriental Market space on McKnight Road in Ross Township.

It’ll mark a return to the North Hills for Zhu, who worked as a chef/partner at the now-closed China Star in McCandless about a decade ago. Zhu says that he felt there aren’t many outstanding Chinese food options for diners in that part of town (Ting’s Kitchen, which now operates in the former China Star location, is a good choice). So he jumped at the opportunity to expand north.

He’s keeping the Squirrel Hill style location open and will bring in another chef from China to help him run the new kitchen; Zhu will split time between the two locations. “It won’t be a challenge to run two places. I’m bringing a top chef from China, and I’ll be able to train him further here, too,” Zhu says, via a translator.

Chengdu Gourmet in Squirrel Hill is routinely named among the best restaurants in the city. The new McKnight Road location will be in the spot formerly occupied by Oriental Market, a Chinese grocery that moved further up McKnight Road in March.

Food delivery service Hungry Panda hiring Mandarin-speaking Business Development Specialist for Pittsburgh area.

Hungry Panda is hiring a Mandarin-speaking Business Development Specialist for the Pittsburgh area. As PennsylvAsia noted last summer, more Chinese delivery options, like Fantuan and Chowbus, are making their way to Pittsburgh.

"American Interventionism and its Role in Southeast Asian Deportation," July 28 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh will present "American Interventionism and its Role in Southeast Asian Deportation" as part of its 2021 Diversity Forum on July 28.

When discussing the rise of hate toward East and Southeast Asian Americans, the state sanctioned violence towards these communities -namely Southeast Asians -is often overlooked. These attacks are not individual, but rather institutional, and date back to American interventionism beginning in the former half of the 20th century. Since President Biden’s inauguration 2,886 immigrants have been deported, despite a campaign promise of a 100-day deportation moratorium. These deportations have affected not only the Asian American community, but also the Black and LatinxAmerican communities. In this workshop, we will discuss the theories driving American foreign policy during the 20th century and the effects of American interventionism on Southeast Asian countries to provide a framework for our primary focus on modern state violence towards Southeast Asian Americans in the form of deportations. This workshop aims to educate participants about how this American intervention has led to current refugee populations and the Southeast Asian diaspora, causing the immigration and deportation issues today, as we cannot act before we are informed. We hope this event will build coalitions between the Asian American community and other marginalized populations in order to engage in collective action against systemic oppression. At the end of the event, we will also provide a tool kit to participants with ways to help families affected by deportation and action items to stop this state.

It runs from 10:45 am to 12:00 pm and is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

"Pittsburgh KPOP Party 2021" with 412 Ktown, August 27.

412 Ktown (Kpop Pittsburgh) will present "Pittsburgh KPOP Party 2021" on August 27 at Level Up Studios.

!!ITS FINALLY HERE!!!
We are finally up and running with our
kpop events once again after a long wait^^
come join us and dance the night away to your favorite KPOP songs
Music will be provided by DJ.Kidplay (Kpop dj on tiktok )
BTS , NCT , Way V , Exo , Black Pink , Aespa , Everglow and more..
To Enter the Event We recommend everyone to wear masks ( its optional to your personal preference)
THIS IS 18+ EVENT
****$15 @ the door (Cash Prefer) if not we have venmo & paypal **** and there is parking lot next to the dance studio plus plenty of street parking
For More info : Contact us on Facebook (412 Ktown) or email us (412ktownpgh@gmail.com)
Also , We will have our group wristbands for sale at the event ($5)
Hope to see you guys there ^^

It runs from 8:30 pm on the 27th through 12:30 am. Level Up Studios is located at 4836 Penn Ave. in Garfield (map).

"Advocating for the Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities at Pitt," July 29.

From a March 2021 Stop Asian Hate rally in Oakland (via Pittsburgh City-Paper)

The University of Pittsburgh will present a conversation on "Advocating for the Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities at Pitt" on July 29, part of the 2021 Diversity Forum.

This workshop is intended to help advocates at the University of Pittsburgh understand the specific issues facing the AAPI and Asian communities in Pittsburgh and the country. It consists of a presentation followed by discussion and then a question/answer session. The primary speaker is Sunny Yang (Attorney, an officer and former board member of Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania and a member and former Chair of the Asian Attorneys Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association), who will be joined by Seung-Hwan Shin (Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures) and Paris Yamamoto (Pitt undergraduate and former president of the campus Japanese Students Association).

Simon Tam among featured speakers at "Spitting Fire: An Evening with Friends," July 27 (online) at Pitt.

Simon Tam is among the featured speakers at "Spitting Fire: An Evening with Friends" on July 27, part of the online 2021 Diversity Forum at the University of Pittsburgh.

Join your fellow Forum attendees and a lineup of artists from Pittsburgh and beyond for a celebration of creativity as a source of joy, resistance, and community. The evening kicks off with remarks by Simon Tam of The Slants and includes performances by musicians INEZ and Brittney Chantele, poets Dawn Lundy Martin and Jubi Arriola-Headley, multidisciplinary artist Bria Walker, and writer Hannah Eko. Creativity is for everyone, so the evening will also feature an open mic session where you can share your creative spark through spoken word, music, or performance.

. . .

Simon Tam is best known as the founder and bassist of The Slants, the world’s first and only all-Asian American dance rock band. He helped expand civil liberties for minorities by winning a unanimous victory at the Supreme Court of the United States for a landmark case, Matal v. Tam, in 2017. He also leads The Slants Foundation, a nonprofit that supports arts and activism projects for underrepresented communities.

The event starts at 7:00 pm; it's free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Tickets now available for Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro in Pittsburgh-area theaters, October through December.

Four Japanese animated films will be back in Pittsburgh-area theaters from October through December as part of GHIBLI Fest 2021, an annual showcase of Studio Ghibli movies. 

• Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) - October 3 and 6 (dubbed in English), October 4 (English subtitles) 
• Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) - October 24 and 28 (dubbed), October 25 (subtitles)
• Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) - November 14 and 18 (dubbed), November 15 (subtitled)
• My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) - December 5 and 9 (dubbed), December 8 (subtitled)

The movies will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson.

Chengdu Gourmet offers 10% discount when ordering takeout or delivery through its website.

Chengdu Gourmet (老四川), routinely ranked among the best restaurants in Pittsburgh, has recently begun offering a 10% discount to those who order takeout or delivery through its new website, chengdupa15217.com. It's a way to address the numerous third-party websites not vetted by restaurants that offer online ordering options while charging hefty fees and lacking customer service or quality control.

Chengdu Gourmet opened in 2014 and is located at 5840 Forward Ave. in Squirrel Hill (map).

2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) in Pittsburgh, July 25 and 27.

The 2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) will play in Pittsburgh on July 25 and 27. From the distributor:

GKIDS and Fathom Events proudly bring back the critically acclaimed film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name.

The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemarks in McCandless, Monroeville, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; the screening on the 25th is dubbed in English and the screening on the 27th is in Japanese with English subtitles.

Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, among panelists in "Bitter Fruit: The Poison of America’s Racism" at 2021 Pitt Diversity Forum, July 28.

Dr. Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, is among the featured speakers at the University of Pittsburgh's 2021 Diversity Forum. Dr. Jeung is a professor in the Asian American Studies Department, San Francisco State University, and Stop AAPI Hate is summarized:

In response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University launched the Stop AAPI Hate coalition on March 19, 2020. The coalition tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

He will be a panelist for "Bitter Fruit: The Poison of America’s Racism" on July 28:

Dr. Keisha N. Blain will be joined by paenelists for a broad conversation on American racism and how it has shaped the experiences of various groups, including Asian Americans, Black Americans, and the Latinx community. The panel will explore historical and contemporary issues while considering how racism has been embedded in American politics, journalism, education, culture, and other aspects of society. This overview will include discussion of the Covid-19 pandemic, the uprisings during the last year, the January 6th insurrection, and the escalating wave of anti-Asian violence throughout the United States.

This panel runs from 9:00 to 10:30 am on the 28th and is free and open to the public, though advance registration is required. It, and other featured sessions, will also be streamed live on Pitt Diversity's YouTube channel.

October's Screenshot Asia gets 2021 Pitt Seed Grant funding.

"Screenshot Asia: Connecting Pittsburgh to 21st Century Film and Media" is one of 20 projects to receive 2021 Pitt Seed Grant Funding, the University of Pittsburgh announced today. Screenshot Asia is an annual Asian film festival that is scheduled for October, after having its first year cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020.

The Screenshot: Asia Film Festival, starting October 2021, brings together students, faculty and community members around our interest in Asia as a rapidly developing and essential part of the 21st century global economy and our region’s shared love for contemporary film and media arts. The weeklong event will showcase films from northern Asia to the Middle East. Our themes, Global Asia (2021) and Inter/Media (2022), give us the flexibility to engage with local ethnic communities, Asian and Asian-American student interests, film lovers and the broader public eager to learn more about Asia while celebrating artistry, diversity and humanity through cinema.

It is scheduled to run October 6 - 10; the film line-up and other details will be announced later.

"Food as Expression" workshop for high school students with Soju founder/owner, July 27 at Mattress Factory.

The Mattress Factory - Museum of Contemporary Art will host Simon Chough, owner and founder of the Garfield Korean restaurant Soju, on July 27 for a "Food as Expression" workshop for teenagers.

Are you a fan of food (I mean who isn’t)? But have you thought about how food can be creative and expressive? Founder and owner of the acclaimed restaurant SOJU Simon Chough will join us for this workshop to share about that creative expression in his own culinary practice, and we will make (and enjoy) some delicious food together!

This event is one of a six-part Teen Summer Workshop Series. "Food as Expression" runs from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Mattress Factory on the Northside (map); it is free but online registration is required.

Yayoi Kusama in situ: A screening of KUSAMA: INFINITY, July 22 at Mattress Factory.

The Mattress Factory - Museum of Contemporary Art will host "Yayoi Kusama in situ: A screening of KUSAMA: INFINITY" on July 22.

This event will celebrate world renown artist Yayoi Kasuma with a screening of the biographical documentary Kusama: Infinity and educator-led tours of Kusama’s permanent installation at the Mattress Factory. Ticket price includes light refreshments, drink ticket, and entry to other exhibits in the main building.

The event runs from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and tickets are available online. The Mattress Factory is a contemporary art museum that features two permanent exhibitions from Kusama, located at 500 Sampsonia Way on the Northside (map).

Fundraiser continues for Pittsburgh Chinatown marker.

The online fundraising continues for a plaque to mark the site of Pittsburgh's Chinatown, which was granted state historical landmark status earlier this year. The Organization of Chinese Americans has raised $3,402 of the desired $7,000 so far: $5,000 will go toward the plaque itself with $2,000 going toward a celebration planned for the fall.

2020 Japanese animated movie Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] III. spring song (劇場版「Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]」III.spring song) in Pittsburgh, July 18 and 20.

TThe 2020 Japanese animated movie Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] III. spring song (劇場版「Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]」III.spring song) will play in Pittsburgh July 18 and 20. From the distributor:

The thrilling Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] trilogy comes to its incredible conclusion with the release of the final chapter, Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] III. spring song, on the big screen!

1998 Hong Sang-soo film The Power of Kangwon Province (강원도의 힘) online via Row House Cinema, through July 17.

Row House Cinema presents the 1998 Hong Sang-soo film The Power of Kangwon Province (강원도의 힘) online through July 17.

Presented in a beautiful restoration and newly translated, Hong Sangsoo’s breakthrough second feature, THE POWER OF KANGWON PROVINCE, is an early masterwork from the prolific filmmaker. Playing with structure, perspective and time – elements that would become hallmarks of his later work – the film follows a young woman, Jisook, who, fresh off her relationship with a married man, joins two girlfriends for a vacation in the mountainous Kangwon region and quickly makes the same mistakes, tumbling into bed with a married policeman. The film then shifts to her ex, Sangwon, who happens to be visiting the same region at the same time, and threatens to cross Jisook’s path.

Rental is $12 with some proceeds benefiting the single-screen theater in Lawrenceville.

Mongolian heavy metal band The Hu in Pittsburgh, September 17.

Mongolian heavy metal band The Hu will play the Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead on September 17.

In 2019, an NPR story put a spotlight on “a band from Mongolia that blends the screaming guitars of heavy metal and traditional Mongolian guttural singing,” accurately highlighting the cultural importance and unique musical identity of The HU. Founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, The HU, comprised of producer Dashka along with members Gala, Jaya, Temka, and Enkush, are a modern rock group rooted in the tradition of their homeland. The band’s name translates to the Mongolian root word for human being, and their unique approach blends instruments like the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), Tumur Khuur (jaw harp) and throat singing with contemporary sounds, creating a unique sonic profile that they call “Hunnu Rock.”

Tickets for the 8:00 pm show are available online from $32 (plus fees). The Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead is located at 510 E. 10th Ave. in Munhall (map).

Documentary The Witches of the Orient, on Japanese women's volleyball team in the 50s and 60s, online via Row House Cinema from July 30.

The Row House Cinema will present the 2021 documentary The Witches of the Orient online from July 30.

How does a Japanese women’s volleyball team from the late 1950s become an international sensation, feminist role models, the subject of a wildly popular comic book and a still-influential anime?

This stranger-than-fiction story is dynamically told by Julien Faraut (JOHN McENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION), with an ironic twist on the original demeaning moniker, Oriental Witches. A group of Osaka textile workers are transformed into a fiercely competitive volleyball team by their astonishingly ruthless coach whose unconventional techniques emphasize speed and aggression. A record-setting winning streak and a dramatic 1964 Tokyo Olympics triumph follow. Wonderful archival footage of the women in training and on the court, animated versions of their championship games, and moving interviews with the women today are set to a pulsating electronic score.

It will be available to rent and view online from the 30th, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the single-screen theater in Lawrenceville.

Japanese guitarist MIYAVI at Thunderbird Cafe, October 22.

Japanese guitarist MIYAVI will play the Thunderbird Cafe on October 22.

Takamasa Ishihara (石原 崇雅), better known by his stage name Miyavi (雅), is a Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer and actor. He is known for his finger-slapping style of playing a guitar. He has been active since 1999, first as guitarist for the now defunct visual kei rock band Dué le Quartz and then as a solo artist starting in 2002. In 2007, he became a member of the rock supergroup Skin and in 2009 founded his own company, J-Glam. He toured worldwide several times, with over 250 shows in 30 countries as of 2015.

Tickets for the 18+ show are available online from $30 (plus the multitude of fees); doors open at 7 pm, show starts at 8 pm. The Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall is located at 4023 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

Sushi Kim 2 opening soon downtown.

Sushi Kim, which closed its famed Strip District sushi and Korean restaurant in late-2019, has announced a Sushi Kim 2 coming soon to downtown. It will be located at 110 Smithfield St. (map). In 2020 it announced Sushi Kim 2 Go for N. Craig St. in Oakland, but the storefront there remains empty.

2020 Japanese movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」 無限列車編) remains in Pittsburgh through July 14.

The 2020 Japanese animated movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」 無限列車編), which opened in Pittsburgh on April 22, will remain here through at least July 14. A synopsis of the top-grossing film in Japan last year, from the theaters:

Tanjiro Kamado, joined with Inosuke Hashibira, a boy raised by boars who wears a boar's head, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, a scared boy who reveals his true power when he sleeps, board the Infinity Train on a new mission with the Fire Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku, to defeat a demon who has been tormenting the people and killing the demon slayers who oppose it!

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online; please note, some shows are in Japanese with subtitles while others are dubbed in English.

Cleveland Zoo suing Pittsburgh Zoo over Asian Lantern Festival.

via @pghzoo

The Cleveland Zoo is suing the Pittsburgh Zoo over the latter's upcoming Asian Lantern Festival, which is alleged to infringe on the longstanding festival in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo went to court Friday in a fight over one of its biggest annual attractions, the Asian Lantern Festival.

The Metroparks filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cleveland to stop the Pittsburgh Zoo from using the same name and similar marketing material for an event it is planning later this summer. The filing seeks a temporary restraining order and an injunction.

The Pittsburgh version is scheduled to run from August 14 through October 30. I've written before about how an Asian lantern festival, at least one inspired by the annual festival in Jinju, South Korea, would be an excellent use of the city's rivers.

2020 Japanese animated film Josee, The Tiger and The Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) in Pittsburgh, July 12 and 13.

The 2020 Japanese animated film Josee, The Tiger and The Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) will play in Pittsburgh on July 12 and 13.

In Josee, The Tiger and the Fish, there isn't a magical world to which our protagonist, Kumiko, can escape, aside from her own vibrant imagination. Kumiko prefers to be called Josee, a character from one of her favorite books. Unable to use her legs from birth, Josee, now in her early 20s, is cared for by her loving but controlling grandmother, who forbids her to leave the house except on short walks. It’s on one of these walks that Josee loses control of her wheelchair and careens down a steep hill. Luckily, her fall is stopped by Tsuneo, a university student who lives in the area. The night Tsuneo inadvertently saves Josee, her grandmother offers him a new job with better pay than most: to look after her granddaughter. The two begin to venture from home, to movies, amusement parks, aquariums and even the ocean. Josee begins to emerge from her shell, sharing with Tsuneo her passion for drawing and her ambition to become an artist. Soon Tsuneo begins to understand all the complexities of life without the use of one’s legs, from navigating train lines with a wheelchair to simply cooking a meal at home.

It plays locally at the Cinemark in the North Hills. Tickets are available online; the July 12 screening is in Japanese with English subtitles, and the July 13 screening is dubbed in English.

1998 Hong Sang-soo film The Power of Kangwon Province (강원도의 힘) online via Row House Cinema.

Row House Cinema will present the 1998 Hong Sang-soo film The Power of Kangwon Province (강원도의 힘) online from July 2.

Presented in a beautiful restoration and newly translated, Hong Sangsoo’s breakthrough second feature, THE POWER OF KANGWON PROVINCE, is an early masterwork from the prolific filmmaker. Playing with structure, perspective and time – elements that would become hallmarks of his later work – the film follows a young woman, Jisook, who, fresh off her relationship with a married man, joins two girlfriends for a vacation in the mountainous Kangwon region and quickly makes the same mistakes, tumbling into bed with a married policeman. The film then shifts to her ex, Sangwon, who happens to be visiting the same region at the same time, and threatens to cross Jisook’s path.

Rental is $12 with some proceeds benefiting the single-screen theater in Lawrenceville.

2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) in Pittsburgh, July 25 and 27.

The 2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) will play in Pittsburgh on July 25 and 27. From the distributor:

GKIDS and Fathom Events proudly bring back the critically acclaimed film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name.

The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemarks in McCandless, Monroeville, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; the screening on the 25th is dubbed in English and the screening on the 27th is in Japanese with English subtitles.

Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, announced as featured speaker at Pitt's 2021 Diversity Forum.

The University of Pittsburgh today announced the featured speakers for its 2021 Diversity Forum later this month, a list that includes Russell Jeung, a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. Dr. Jeung is a professor in the Asian American Studies Department, San Francisco State University, and Stop AAPI Hate is summarized:

In response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University launched the Stop AAPI Hate coalition on March 19, 2020. The coalition tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Details of his participation are not yet available. The forum runs online from July 26 through 29.