Cambodian film The Last Reel (ដុំហ្វីលចុងក្រោយ) in Oakland, July 18.

The Cambodian film The Last Reel (ដុំហ្វីលចុងក្រោយ), which first played in Pittsburgh on July 13, will have a second screening at the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival on Saturday, July 18, the last day of the festival. A synopsis, via the official site:

A lost film buried beneath the Killing Fields reveals different versions of the truth.

Sophoun discovers an old film starring her mother and this offers her the chance to dictate her own destiny, but at the cost of uncovering some dark secrets about her mother and father during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Phnom Penh, present day. Sophoun, the rebellious daughter of a hard-line army colonel, lives life for the moment, hanging out with a local gang. But when her father returns home with another marriage proposal, Sophoun flees her imploding home and seeks refuge in a derelict cinema. There, she is shocked to discover an incomplete 1970s melodrama from pre-Khmer Rouge times, a film which starred her now desperately ill mother as a glamorous young woman. A story from a different world, a different time.

With the help of the cinema’s elderly projectionist, Sophoun re-makes the missing last reel of the film, reprising her mother’s role. By premiering the completed film forty years later, she hopes to remind her mother of a life she’d once lived and to mend the psychological scars that still haunt her.

The old film, however, poses more questions than it answers. The promise of the Cambodian film industry and its newest star was cut short in 1975 by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime which specifically targeted actors and filmmakers as enemies of the people. Remaking the last reel offers Sophoun an opportunity to dictate her own destiny but at the cost of uncovering some painful truths about her family and their past.

The movie plays at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map) and starts at 8:30 pm.

강정호의 "해적"티셔츠.

Commonwealth Press has designed Jung-ho Kang t-shirts with "Pirates" in Korean, 해적, across the front.



In Korean, the singular Pirate is the same as the plural. The unisex shirt is $15.

Pittsburgh City-Paper profiles author and University of Pittsburgh professor Robert Yune.

The Pittsburgh City-Paper published a profile in today's edition of author and University of Pittsburgh professor Robert Yune, whose first novel, Eighty Days of Sunlight, was published in June. An excerpt:

The book is especially notable for its particularized and distinctive portrait of Asian Americans. Yune never wanted to write about racism, racial identity or the immigrant experience, because, well, that's been done. But at the least, Eighty Days of Sunlight (titled for Pittsburgh's supposed annual solar exposure) is an unusual take on those matters. Yune notes, for instance, that working-class Asian-American life is usually referenced only as backstory — not depicted in the firsthand way of Jason's often stupefied workaholic father, or of Jason finding a strange pride in taking his father's place in a hot, grimy, noisy factory. Nor, in a national literature replete with immigrants "making it," do we see often such strivers fail.

Likewise atypical are Jason and Tommy, contentious young screw-ups who'd fit no one's typed ideas of Asian Americans. "When I got to know the characters, they didn't seem to be ... the model minority," says Yune. "A lot of times when we see people who don't fit the stereotypes, we forget about them."

More about the author on his official website.

Four Akira Kurosawa films at Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville, July 24 - 30.

The Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville (map) will show four Akira Kurosawa films in a film series dedicated to the director. 1961's Yojimbo (用心棒), 1949's Stray Dog (野良犬), 1958's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), and 1950's Rashomon (羅生門) will run from July 24 to 30. A schedule and ticket information are available on the theater's website.

Korean movie Futureless Things (이것이 우리의 끝이다) in Oakland, July 14 and 16.

The 2014 Korean movie Futureless Things (이것이 우리의 끝이다) will in Oakland on July 14 and 16 as part of the 2015 Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival.



A synopsis:

The trials and tribulations of a group of convenience store clerks over the course of a single day are emblematic of societal archetypes. These unforgettable characters toil away as they deal with love, drama, mystery, romance, unruly customers and even a little magic. The motley crew includes: a struggling actor, an English student, and a young girl trying to get over a romantic relationship with one of her coworkers. Set against a very specific cultural moment, one wonders: how much does an individual struggle with love, drama, or mystery actually matter when pitted against almighty commerce?

The July 14 screening is at 7:00 pm at the Melwood Screening Room (map). The 2015 festival runs from July 10 through July 18 at the Melwood Screening Room and the Regent Square Theater. Ticket information and the complete festival schedule are available at the festival's website.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, July 21.

The Carnegie Library in East Liberty will host "Storytime: Japanese and English" on Tuesday, July 21.

Celebrate our city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese. For children ages 2-5 and their parents or caregivers.

The event runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am, and the library is located at 130 S. Whitfield Street (map).

"Teen Time: Attack on Titan Party" at Carnegie Library Lawrenceville, July 18.

The Lawrenceville branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host "Teen Time: Attack on Titan Party" on July 18. Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) is a Japanese manga series, and one that has appeared in other media as well. From the library's event page:

Step out of the summer heat and into a world of cool Japanese culture! Create delicious candy sushi, construct Asian inspired crafts and compete with your friends at Attack on Titan trivia!

The event is intended for fans in grades 6 through 12. The Lawrenceville branch is located at 279 Fisk St. (map).

Thai film How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) in Oakland, July 12 and 18.

The 2015 Thai film How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) will play at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map) on July 12 and 18 as part of this year's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival. A synopsis of the feature film debut of Josh Kim, via the official website:

In Thailand, all males turning 21 years old must participate in the annual military draft lottery. Drawing a black card grants exemption, while drawing red results in two years of military service.

On the morning of his draft lottery, Oat reflects back on his childhood -- when as a child, his older brother Ek faced the possibility of being drafted himself. Unable to convince Ek to do whatever he can to change his fate, young Oat takes matters into his own hands, resulting in unexpected circumstances.

Based on the short stories “At the Café Lovely” and “Draft Day” from the U.S. bestselling book Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap[.]

The July 12 screening is at 6:30 pm. The 2015 festival runs from July 10 through July 18 at the Melwood Screening Room and the Regent Square Theater. Ticket information and the complete festival schedule are available through the festival's website.

Vietnamese films Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere (Đập Cánh Giữa Không Trung) and Nuoc 2030 (Nước) at Silk Screen Festival, July 12.

The Vietnamese films Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere (Đập Cánh Giữa Không Trung) and Nuoc 2030 (Nước) will play in Pittsburgh on July 12 as part of the 2015 Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival.

A synopsis of the former, which plays at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map) at 2:30 pm, from the Toronto International Film Festival:

Vietnamese director Nguyen Hoang Diep's feature debut Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere is a frank yet tender examination of what happens when youthful ambivalence is confronted with life-altering decisions. Tung's strategy for gathering cash for the abortion is to join in the illegal cockfights held outside the city in deserted locales. Huyen's method of fundraising is equally precarious: she accepts her sex-worker friend's offer to hook her up with a client who has a fetish for pregnant women. But this moneymaking technique will take her into surprising and bizarre psychological territory.

And a synopsis of Nuoc 2030, which plays at the Melwood Screening Room at 8:30 am, from the Silk Screen Festival:

Nuoc 2030 is a sophisticated dystopian mystery with a premise that may be grounded more in science than fiction. In the year 2030, extreme climate change has brought South Vietnam below sea level. Citizens now survive on boats and stilt houses and work on floating farms. When her husband is found dead, Sao (Quynh Hoa) takes a job at a floating farm run by a large corporation that she hopes will provide answers about his suspicious death. Not only does Sao encounter people from her past, but she is also confronted by revelations with larger implications than the simple, sad fate of her husband.

The 2015 festival runs from July 10 through July 18 at the Melwood Screening Room and the Regent Square Theater. Ticket information and the complete festival schedule are available through the festival's website. Both films will have additional screenings later in the week.

Cooking Class visits Everyday Noodles

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Cooking Class visits Squirrel Hill's Everyday Noodles to learn the recipe for pork and cabbage potstickers.

Shortly after Chen opened Everyday Noodles in Squirrel Hill with authentic Chinese dishes, 90 percent of the patrons were Asians, a testament to the restaurant's authenticity.

Now, about 50 percent of the diners at Everyday Noodles are non-Asians, who can savor traditional Asian dishes like dim sum, soup noodles and bubble tea.

“I bring South China (cuisine) and North China mixed together,” Chen says. Northern China has a drier climate, so the drier soil is more conducive to growing barley. Rice, which requires plenty of water, is grown in South China.

To ensure the authenticity of the dishes, Chen brings in well-trained chefs from Taiwan to teach his chefs how to prepare various dishes, which they do behind plate-glass partitions. There, patrons can view the staff stretching noodle dough or steaming dumplings.

“With Chinese cuisine, the preparation time is very long — cooking time is very short,” Chen says. He says Everyday Noodles is “fast-casual” with a hometown flavor.

“Everything is handmade,” Chen says.