"K-Pop Fandom in Pittsburgh," November 21 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host a panel discussion on November 21 titled "K-Pop Fandom in Pittsburgh."

The deeply devoted fans play a critical role in the K-Pop global phenomenon. They support bands through concert tickets and merchandise, streaming videos, memorizing dances and gathering at conventions. K-Pop Fandom is alive and well right here in Pittsburgh. Join us for a moderated panel discussion with organizations dedicated to K-Pop in our neighborhood.

It will feature Elise Antel of the Pittsburgh Japanese Cultural Society and Tekko, Carmen Kuo of Pitt FRESA, and Tommy J. Yoo of the 412 K Town Facebook Page. It starts at 5:00 pm in 229 Barco Law Building (map).

Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) continues in Pittsburgh through (at least) November 21.

The acclaimed 2019 Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충), which opened in Pittsburgh on November 1, will continue in Pittsburgh through at least November 21.

Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It continues locally at the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill through the 21st, and the Hollywood Theater, AMC Loews Waterfront, Waterworks Cinemas, and Cinemark theater at Pittsburgh Mills through the 20th. Tickets are available online.

2018 Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still (大象席地而坐) in Pittsburgh, November 17.

The 2018 Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still (大象席地而坐) will play in Pittsburgh on November 17 as part of this year's Three Rivers Film Festival. The film's official site provides a synopsis:

Under the gloomy sky of a small town in northern China, different protagonists’ lives are intertwined in this furious tale of nihilistic rage. While protecting his friend from a dangerous school bully, 16-year-old WEI Bu pushes the tormentor down a staircase. WEI escapes the scene and later learns that the bully is hospitalized and gravely injured. WEI’s neighbor, the 60-year-old WANG Jin, is estranged from his family and, with nothing to lose, decides to join him. Later the pair is joined by HUANG Ling, WEI’s classmate. She is bedeviled by a destructive affair with a married school official. Together, this unlikely and desperate trio, decide their only hope is to flee as the bully’s gangster brother, enraged parents, and vindictive school authorities all go on a cold-blooded hunt for WEI across town. As WEI threads his way through the urban wilderness, he begins to come to terms with his own lost life. In the end, he boards a long-distance bus with HUANG and WANG toward a city in Manchuria, where it is a rumored that a circus elephant is said to be sitting still, seeming oblivious to pain and tribulations of the world at large.

It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1:00 pm, though tickets are not yet available.

Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) in Pittsburgh, November 17, 18, and 20.

The 1997 film Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) will play in and around Pittsburgh on November 17, 18, and 20 as part of this year's GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest.

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes an epic masterpiece that has dazzled audiences worldwide with its breathtaking imagination, exhilarating battles, and deep humanity.

Inflicted with a deadly curse, the young warrior Ashitaka heads west in search of a cure. There, he stumbles into a bitter conflict between Lady Eboshi, the proud people of Iron Town, and the enigmatic Princess Mononoke, a young girl raised by wolves, who will stop at nothing to prevent the humans from destroying her home and the forest spirits and animal gods who live there.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson. The shows on November 17 and 20 are in Japanese with English subtitles and the November 18 shows are dubbed in English. Tickets are available online.

2016 Taiwanese documentary Small Talk (日常對話) at City of Asylum, November 20.

The 2016 Taiwanese documentary film Small Talk will play in Pittsburgh on November 20, presented by ReelQ.

Anu is a tomboy. Married off at a young age—as was customary in Taiwan in the 1970s—and had two children, Anu soon divorced her violent husband and raised her daughters alone. Since then her only romantic relationships have been with women whom, like her, earn a living as professional mourners at funerals.

It’s considered taboo in Taiwanese culture to question a mother’s love, but that’s exactly the topic of her daughter, Hui-chen Huang’s intimate portrait. Mother and daughter set off on a journey together into the past, during which Hui-chen confronts Anu with questions that have tormented Hui-chen for many years.

In a series of long shots the two women discuss loneliness, trust, and abuse, yet most of these discussions end in painful silence. Shifting focus in order to plumb the depths of their relationship, Hui-chen brings viewers along on her desperate attempts to understand her mother.

It plays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Alphabet City Word Cellar on the North Side (map), and tickets are now available online.

Chinese-language historical tour of Carnegie Library in Oakland / 将提供卡内基图书馆的中文导游, November 16, December 14, January 11.

via @CarnegieLibraryOfPittsburgh.


The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host Chinese-language historical tours of its Oakland (main) branch on November 14, December 14, and January 11.

Join our Library docents as we take you on a guided tour through Andrew Carnegie’s Main Library. You’ll get a look at the resources, incredible art and architecture that created this historic landmark, as well as how the building’s interior has changed over time.

欢迎您参加卡内基公共图书馆奥克兰馆的中文讲解导览。在导览中，我们将带您深入了解图书馆馆内的资源，欣赏图书馆的建筑艺术，一起探索卡内基图书馆与匹兹堡市的历史与变迁。

New Chinese movie Better Days (少年的你) in Pittsburgh, from November 15.

The new Chinese movie Better Days (少年的你) will open in Pittsburgh on November 15. From the distributor:

From the award-winning team of Soul Mate, comes a new Chinese drama movie by Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang, starring Jackson Yee and Zhou Dongyu.

When it is time for the Chinese gaokao, a two-day national college entrance exam, the entire country comes to a standstill. For nearly ten million high school students, this exam not only determines where and if they get to study but the fates of their entire families as well. Like so many others, Nian has been single-mindedly preparing for the exam, cutting everything else out of her life. When she becomes the target of relentless bullying, fate brings her together with small-time criminal Bei and the two form a strong friendship. Before they can completely retreat into a world of their own, the two are dragged in the middle of a murder case of a teenage girl where they are the prime suspects. In this dramatic thriller, Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang paints a bleak picture of an oppressive society, in the guise of a gripping fairy-tale love story, exposing the dark world of bullying and societal pressures of achievement facing today’s youth.

It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are 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.

Yummyholic's Jasmine Cho on Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge.

Jasmine Cho of Squirrel Hill (and Yummyholic) will appear on the Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge on November 18, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review writes.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, November 19.

via archdaily.org

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on November 19 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

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

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) continues in Squirrel Hill through (at least) November 14.

The acclaimed 2019 Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충), which opened in Pittsburgh on November 1 and plays at various locations through (at least) November 13, will stay at the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill through at least the 14th.

Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It continues at the AMC Loews Waterfront and through (at least) November 13, opens at the Waterworks Cinema and the AMC in Mt. Lebanon from November 7, and stays at the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill through November 14; are available online.