The lineup for the 2013 Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival was recently announced, and it's stacked with 25 films including four from Korea; two from Japan; one each from China, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines; and others with connections to the region.
,
A small selection of posters: Two Shadows from Cambodia and the US, Tatsumi from Singapore and Japan, Pieta from Korea, Cha Cha for Twins from Taiwan, Asura from Japan, and The Thieves from Korea.
This annual Pittsburgh festival will run this year from May 10 through 19th at three venues throughout the city: The Melwood Screening Room in Oakland, the Harris Theater downtown, and the eponymous Regent Square Theater.
Friday, March 22, 2013
2013 Kennywood Asian Day, May 12.
Kennywood Pagoda, copyright Kurt Miller.
A perfect time to start thinking about spring festivities. *cough* According to recent updates to Kennywood's 2013 Nationality & Community Days and Special Events calendar, Asian Day leads off the community day season at the amusement park on Sunday, May 12. More details to come later, so for now we'll restrict the description to the usual: there will be food and performances.
Labels:
Events,
Pittsburgh
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Taiwanese Film Series begins with Three Times (最好的時光), March 25.
Maridon Museum's Taiwanese Film Series begins March 25 with Three Times (最好的時光), a 2005 movie that, Wikipedia says,
features three chronologically separate stories of love between May and Chen, set in 1911, 1966 and 2005, using the same lead actors, Shu Qi and Chang Chen.The show starts at 6:30 and is presented by Dr. William Covey of Slippery Rock University.
"'Japan is the Key…': Collecting Prints and Ivories, 1900–1920", March 30 to July 21.
The Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland (map) will run the exhibit "'Japan is the Key…': Collecting Prints and Ivories, 1900–1920" from March 30 through July 21 in Gallery One. The exhibition, to borrow heavily from the CMoA website,
presents highlights from Carnegie Museum of Art’s significant collection of iconic Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) in an entirely new way, uniting them with Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s holdings of exquisite Japanese carved ivories (okimono). These collections were formed in the early years of the 20th century, motivated by European and North American acceptance of Japan as an emerging modern power, and the aesthetic appeal of Japanese art to artists and collectors. Japan is the Key… tells the story of two very different men who promoted Carnegie Institute’s early interest in Japanese art: poet and critic Sadakichi Hartmann, who masterminded the Department of Fine Arts’ controversial exhibitions of Japanese prints in the first decade of the 20th century; and ketchup magnate H. J. Heinz, who acquired ivories on his world-wide travels on behalf of local industry and religious organizations. This exhibition offers a rare view of this period of cultural interchange through the lens of the personalities that shaped it.
Labels:
art,
Events,
History,
Japan,
Pittsburgh
Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, April 1 - 26.
The Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia will take place this year from April 1st through 26th. There is a massive amount of events planned around the festival, so browse the website and consider making the drive (or the Megabus) for the weekend. Consider visiting, too, Shufuso, a Japanese garden in Fairmont Park, a short distance from where many of the cherry blossoms are located.
Labels:
Events,
Japan,
Philadelphia
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Crocodile in the Yangtze and Sushi: The Global Catch at CMU this week.
Carnegie Mellon University International Film Festival: Faces of Media runs from March 21 through April 13, and relevant to this site are the two Asian-themed films this weekCrocodile on the Yangtze and Sushi: A Global Catch.
Crocodile on the Yangtze is scheduled for March 22, 7:00 pm, at the McConomy Auditorium, CMU University Center (campus map). The director will attend, says the website. The movie's official website says:
Crocodile in the Yangtze follows China’s first Internet entrepreneur and former English teacher, Jack Ma, as he battles US giant eBay on the way to building China's first global Internet company, Alibaba Group. An independent memoir written, directed and produced by an American who worked in Ma’s comany for eight years, Crocodile in the Yangtze captures the emotional ups and downs of life in a Chinese Internet startup at a time when the Internet brought China face-to-face with the West.Sushi: The Global Catch is scheduled for March 24, 5:30 pm, at the same place. After the movie is a reception with a presentation by a sushi chef. An NPR review says of the film:
Outlining the process that brings tuna from the boat to the plate is just one of the building blocks of the film's larger argument about the economic and environmental impact of the sushi industry. Although The Global Catch initially considers sushi broadly, it takes the food's ubiquity for granted, merely glancing at its role in the culture and its global culinary influence as it speeds toward its essential focus: conservation.Tickets for each of these are $8 for regular admission or $5 for seniors and students.
Labels:
China,
Events,
Japan,
movies,
Pittsburgh
Zenkaikon anime convention in Lancaster, March 22 - 24.
Lancaster will host its annual Zenkaikon anime convention this weekend, March 22 - 24 at the Lancaster County Convention Center (map). "Zenkaikon was created in 2006", says the website,
through the merging of two Philadelphia-area events -- Kosaikon, an anime convention held at Villanova University, and Zentrancon, an anime and science fiction convention held on the University of Pennsylvania campus.There is a long list of events and guests that looks appealing to all levels of fan and Japanese-cultural enthusiast: rock group The Slants, kimono consultant Kuniko Kanawa, anthropologist Charles Dunbar, Cosplay Burlesque, video game tournaments, karaoke, and live-action role plays, among others. The panels include topics like "A Complete History of Manga", "Beyond Bleeps and Bloops: An Introduction to Video Game Music", and "The Aging Otaku: Fandom and Getting Older", among more specialized ones.
Lancaster is a fine town, and is actually a city of 59,000, and not just a few roads in Amish country. Both it and the surrounding county are worth a visit, and not just in late-March. It's about four hours from Pittsburgh, though is a relatively easy drive from Hershey, Harrisburg, and other points east.
"Malaysian Tea House" at Pitt, March 22.
The Malaysian Cultural Camaraderie (MalaCCa) and Pitt Global Ties are putting on a "Malaysian Tea House" at William Pitt Union on Friday, March 22, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. From their Facebook Event page:
Come and explore THE BEST STREET FOOD from Malaysia!
Oh, did we tell you they are free? YES, all these food are FREE by Pitt Global Ties and Malacca!
Ice Kacang
Douhua
Kaya Toast
Mochi
Tepung Pelita
Indian candies
Teh tarik
Labels:
Events,
food,
Malaysia,
Pittsburgh
Friday, March 15, 2013
1985 anime The Dagger of Kamui (カムイの剣) at Hollywood Theater, March 24.
The Hollywood Theater in Dormont (map) will show the Japanese anime film The Dagger of Kamui (カムイの剣) on March 24, the latest in their semi-regular Anime Series. The plot summary, from Anime News Network, of the 1985 movie adapted from the novel series:
A young boy named Jiro finds his mother and sister murdered in his home. Falsely accused of the crime, he flees from his village and meets a priest named Tenkai, who has him kill a rogue ninja named Tarouza. After fulfilling that task, Jiro undergoes training to become a master assassin. Many years later, Jiro finds out that he was an orphan and his real father was Tarouza, who had worked for Tenkai until he aborted his mission when he fell in love with an Ainu woman. The young ninja discovers that the Shogunate was to retrieve the lost treasure of Captain Kidd and use it to once again isolate Japan from the rest of the world. Using the clues that Tarouza had kept secret, Jiro - along with the female ninja Oyuki and a slave named Sam - travels to Russia and America to search for the treasure in hopes of using it to extract revenge from Tenkai.It starts at 2 pm and tickets are $7 for adults.
Labels:
Events,
Japan,
movies,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Sakura Project 2013 Spring Planting Festival, April 6.
The Pittsburgh Sakura Project will hold its annual Spring Planting Festival in North Park on April 6 from 1:00 to 3:00. Since 2009 the Pittsburgh Sakura Project has been planting cherry blossoms and other flowering trees near the Boat House in North Park. About this year's festival the website says:
This year’s event will include hanami (flower viewing, weather permitting) and learning about the trees, planting of approximately 7 trees, tea ceremony, music, and more.There is another planting day each fall, during which they plant a good many more trees. The website has photos from years past and also the flyer reposted above. For a little more background about the group, we again defer to the website:
We plan to plant 250 ornamental cherry trees around the greater Pittsburgh region over a 10-year period, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Pittsburgh in 1758. Our aim is for lovers of cherry blossoms to enjoy beautiful, mature cherry trees in the Pittsburgh region. The PSP will enable visitors to Allegheny County parks to enjoy the unique scenery of Sakura and strengthen bonds within the local Japanese community by creating a focal point for cultural and personal exchange. By adding the new element of Sakura to existing park scenery, we create a new aesthetic while preserving the woodland scenery, an example of cultural harmony and environmental sustainability for future generations.
Taken on a rainy day in late March, 2012.
Allegheny County gave permission to the Pittsburgh Sakura Project to plant there in 2008, and while North Park certainly is scenic it would be especially striking to have sakura in a more urban setting, like Schenley Park.
Scouting locations a little while ago.
Labels:
Events,
Japan,
Pittsburgh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Most Popular Posts From the Past Year
-
The Shabu Shabu Hot Pot and Grill in progress in McCandless Crossing in the North Hills is one of five all-you-can-eat hot pot and Korean ...
-
via @mccandlesscrossing Shabu Shabu Hot Pot and Grill is coming soon to McCandless Crossing in the North Hills , according to signage t...
-
Filipino restaurant, from Rafael Vencio of Amboy Urban Farm, coming soon to Pittsburgh's North Side.via @amboy_urbanfarm_pittsburgh Chef Rafael Vencio recently announced on social media that he is working on opening a Filipino restauran...
-
via @parisbaguetteus Shortly after this summer's news of Pittsburgh getting its first Tous Les Jours (뜌레쥬르) is word that another Kore...
-
Signage just went up in Squirrel Hill for KPOT , an all you can eat Hot Pot and Korean BBQ chain. It is coming to 1816 Murray Ave. ( map )...