1973 Japanese animated film Belladonna of Sadness (哀しみのベラドンナ) in Pittsburgh, July 14 - 20.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers announced today the 1973 Japanese animated film Belladonna of Sadness (哀しみのベラドンナ) will play in Pittsburgh from July 14 through 20. A RogerEbert.com review provides a summary:

Beginning with a pop ballad of love, “Belladonna” tells the story of Jeanne, a beautiful young woman who falls in love with hunky Jean. The two, blessed by God, marry, with all the requisite expectations of happily-ever-after. But soon the nightmare begins. On their wedding night, the lord of the village rapes Jeanne. Jean is helpless to intervene. At first broken by the experience, Jeanne eventually vows revenge, with the help of a pact with the devil, who appears to her in explicitly phallic form and grows larger the more Jeanne submits to him. As Jeanne grows more and more powerful, she poses a threat to both the village lord and its priest, who seems to always be beside him. Jean seems progressively more wimpy, succumbing to drink and excess. The men grow weaker as she grows stronger, until she becomes a powerful witch and must be taken down. But that becomes difficult, because the peasant villagers have become attached to her—she provides them healing and hosts nights of unimaginable pleasure in the forest. Violence is the only recompense.

The film will play in Japanese with English subtitles at the Harris Theater for the week and at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland on the 16th; showtimes are available online. The first screening is on the 14th at 5:30 pm. The Harris Theater is located at 809 Liberty Ave. in the downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District (map), and the Melwood Screening Room is located at 477 Melwood Ave. in Oakland (map).

Pitt hiring part-time Chinese instructors for Fall 2017.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures is accepting resumes for part-time Chinese-language instructor positions for the Fall 2017 term through July 19.

EALL anticipates openings for part-time instructors in the Chinese language program beginning in the fall 2017. Candidates must have native language proficiency, hold at least a college degree, and be authorized to work for the University. Prior experience in teaching foreign languages and familiarity with CALL, language pedagogy or linguistics is highly preferred. If interested, please send your CV and a sample lesson plan designed for college-level Chinese class to Juchun Wei at juchun [at] pitt.edu by July 19. Candidates with desirable qualifications will be contacted for interview and teaching demonstration. Interview and teaching demonstration will take place during 7/24-26.

Vietnamese coffee shop opening soon in Lawrenceville.

A new Vietnamese coffee shop, Ineffable Ca Phe, is preparing to open soon in Lawrenceville. It is located at 3920 Penn Ave. (map), just across the street from Bloomfield. It was originally supposed to open on July 8, but promises to open "really soon & it be worth the wait :)"

Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市) in Squirrel Hill now aiming for July 18 opening, offering discounts to customers who like the store's Facebook page.

Originally scheduled to open on July 12, Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市) in Squirrel Hill is now planning a July 18 opening. Customers who like the Asian grocery store on Facebook will receive a 10% discount.



The store is located at 5846 Forbes Ave. (map), on the first floor beneath Bangkok Balcony in what was most recently a mattress shop.

Richmond Engineering Works in Robinson Twp. hiring bilingual Mandarin-English Director of Business Development.

Richmond Engineering Works is hiring a bilingual Mandarin-English Director of Business Development. An excerpt from the job ad:

Richmond Engineering Works LLC (REW) is seeking a Director of Business Development (DBD) to work at our Pittsburgh, PA office to develop business opportunities with P.R China coal ports, power plants, and mining companies. Will also: identify, qualify, and oversee Chinese manufacturing plants for the fabrication of REW rotary railcar dumpers and related products; promote MSHA-30CFR14 certified conveyor belting; manage China MITPs; prepare project charts, quotations, contracts, export-importing shipping, and interact with Chinese customers and factories by creating well-written and well-articulated oral communications in both English and Mandarin Chinese regarding drawings, revisions, acceptance, and clarifications of technical misunderstandings.

Must have (5) years of experience in a related position.

Applicants are requested to mail their letters and resumes to the address listed on the advertisement. Richmond Engineering Works is headquartered at 1601 Parkway View Drive in Robinson Township (map).

Squirrel Hill's Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市) eyeing July 12 opening.

Via @pandasupermarket2017

Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市), an Asian grocery store coming soon to Squirrel Hill, is eyeing a July 12 opening, according to messages from its official Facebook page. Signage went up for it in May at 5846 Forbes Ave. (map), on the first floor beneath Bangkok Balcony.

Shadyside's Szechuan Spice looks about ready.

The paper is off the windows, the furniture is out, and the lights are on in Szechuan Spice in Shadyside. The restaurant has been under construction at 5700 Centre Ave. (map) since August 2015 in what was until 2011 Jimmy Tsang's Chinese Restaurant. Though a lot of progress has been made recently, there is no word on an official opening date yet.

Jiyon Hong at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts through July 23.

Ten-Year Lapse, via Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Korean artist Jiyon Hong's work will be on display at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts through July 23, as one of nine current solo and collaborative exhibitions. A summary of "Grid, Pall-mall & Stepping Stones":

Presenting works that map the City of Pittsburgh though her experience as a new comer, this exhibit comparing geographical and memory maps of her walks in her new hometown. Through her abstracted expression of Pittsburgh’s “placeness,” a shared sense of the city emerges. The show will include installation piece as well as paintings and sculptures based on elements she found in the City of Pittsburgh.

More information is available at Hong's official website. The gallery is located at 6300 Fifth Ave. in Shadyside (map). It is open from 12:00 to 4:00 pm on Sundays, closed on Mondays, and open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm the rest of the week.

Ross Park Mall's Tiffany & Co. hiring Mandarin-speaking sales associate.

The Tiffany & Co. jewelry store in Ross Park Mall in the North Hills is hiring a Mandarin-speaking sales professional.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in retail or luxury retail or relevant customer-related experience (e.g., hospitality).
• Proven track record in achieving sales results.
• Flexibility to work non-traditional hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.
• Ability to work with a diverse client base.
• Proficiency with Point of Sales (POS) systems, client tracking systems and Microsoft Outlook/email.
• Must have authorization to work in the United States or in the country where the position is based.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A college/university degree.
• Graduate Gemologist degree or previous Gemological Institute of America (GIA) course work is preferred.
• Proficiency in multiple languages.

2017 Singaporean-Thai film Pop Aye in Pittsburgh, from July 27.

The 2017 Singaporean-Thai film Pop Aye will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont from July 27. A summary from a recent A.V. Club review:

Some men buy a Ferrari when they’re in the throes of a midlife crisis. Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), the successful architect who’s at the center of writer-director Kirsten Tan’s wistful feature debut Pop Aye, buys an elephant. And although at first this appears to be an act of portentous quirkiness, it turns out that the elephant, Pop Aye—played by an elephant named Bong, one of three actors listed in the film’s credits—is the same one Thana grew up with on his uncle’s farm in the Thai countryside, and the duo’s long walk back to Thana’s hometown is not just a homecoming; it’s an act of penance.

Dissatisfied and feeling as though life is leaving him behind, Thana longs for a simpler time, one less beholden to modern conveniences and consumerist luxuries. The film takes a similarly leisurely tack, ambling along at an unhurried pace for a road trip story that doubles as a travelogue of rural Thailand. Much of the film is split between this odd-couple pilgrimage and scenes of Thana’s life back in Bangkok, where his younger co-workers are squeezing him out of his own firm and his relationship with his wife, Bo (Penpak Sirikul), long ago soured into resentment.

Tickets and showtimes are not yet available online. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.