Tuesday, April 27, 2021

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 May 6.


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 May 6. 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 numerous local theaters, depending on the day, including AMC Loews Waterfront, Waterworks Cinemas, Cranberry Cinemas, the Hollywood Theater in Dormont, and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

New Zhang Yimou film Cliff Walkers (悬崖之上) in Pittsburgh, from April 30.


The 2021 Zhang Yimou film Cliff Walkers (悬崖之上) will play in Pittsburgh from April 30. A brief summary from Asian Movie Pulse:
Based on a script by Quan Yongxian, the previously known as “Impasse” film focuses on four communist party special agents, Zhang, Lan, Yu and Chiuliang, who arrive in Manchukuo in 1931, after training in Russia, in order to carry out a secret mission codenamed “Utrenya”. The operation is to take place in Harbin, where a witness to a Japanese massacre is hiding. The four of them decide to split, although Lan and her husband are rather reluctant to separate. Before they do, however, they promise each other that, whoever survives, should find their children, who have been left behind before their training begun.
It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront (map) and tickets are available online.

2020 Korean-American film Minari remains in Pittsburgh through (at least) May 4.


The 2020 Korean-American film Minari, which opened in Pittsburgh on February 11, will remain here through at least May 4. A synopsis, from the distributor:
A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
It will continue at the AMC Loews Waterfront and Tull Family Theater, and tickets are available online.

Virtual Screening and Discussion: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, May 12 at Pitt.


The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Virtual Screening and Discussion: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, a discussion around a 2019 Bhutanese film, on May 12.
A young teacher in modern Bhutan shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, a glacial Himalayan village called Lunana, to complete his service. He wants to quit and go home, but he begins to learn of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and begins to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers.
Register here for a virtual screening of LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM (Pawo Choyning Dorji, 2019).
Event will be broadcast live digitally. Before the screening, a link will be sent to the email account provided below.
The event starts at 6:30 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

1991 Hong Kong film Center Stage (阮玲玉) online via Row House Cinema, through May 6.


The 1991 Hong Kong film Center Stage (阮玲玉), starring Maggie Cheung, is playing online via Row House Cinema through May 6.
Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan’s unconventional biopic tells the tragic story of “Greta Garbo of China” — Ruan Lingyu, played by Maggie Cheung. Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24. Kwan and Cheung paint a kaleidoscopic yet intimate portrait of the ill-fated actress, deftly blending lush period drama, archival footage, and metatextual documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s legacy. The result is, much like the films of Ruan Lingyu themselves, “tender, vivid and almost overwhelmingly moving” (Time Out)
Tickets are available online.

"Representation & Translation" (with Anton Hur, Jeremy Tiang, and others), May 14 with City of Asylum and Pittsburgh International Literary Festival.


City of Asylum will present "Representation & Translation" on May 14 as part of its Pittsburgh International Literary Festival.
Literary translation catapulted to the international stage because of the recent controversy surrounding the hiring, backlash, and firing of the Danish translator for US inaugural poet Amanda Gorman. Questions around identity & the permission to translate zoomed into focused. But is this wrong question?
Instead, shouldn’t we question the scarcity of Black translators and translators of color? Or talk about dismantling patterns that make it harder for translators of color to access opportunities. How can City of Asylum and others US literary organizations foster a translation community that reflects the diversity of our world? Join a panel of translators as they share their thoughts on these questions and others.
Speakers include Anton Hur (translator from Korean) and Jeremy Tiang (translator from Chinese). The event runs from 7:00 to 8:15 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Friday, April 23, 2021

2019 Hong Kong film Twilight's Kiss (叔.叔), online with City of Asylum and ReelQ, April 28.


The 2019 Ray Yeung film Twilight's Kiss (叔.叔) will play online with City of Asylum and ReelQ on April 28.
TWILIGHT’S KISS (SUK SUK) presents the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years. One day PAK, 70, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets HOI, 65, a retired single father, in a park. Despite years of societal and personal pressure, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together.
It plays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The movie is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Celebrate 143 Day (or "I Love You" Day) with Jasmine Cho and special guests, May 23 (online).


Kidsburgh and Remake Learning will present an online cooking event with author, baker, and activist Jasmine Cho on May 23 to mark "I Love You" Day.
Kidsburgh and Remake Learning Days are thrilled to present a series of baking events with Jasmine Cho. In this virtual session, we celebrate the 143rd day of the year which is declared the day of kindness in honor of Fred Rogers. The numbers had special meaning to Mister Rogers as the number of letters reflected his favorite phrase, "I love you."

In this workshop, Jasmine Cho is joined by special guests Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski, the authors of the book "When You Wonder, You're Learning." Playful and practical, this book brings the lessons of Mister Rogers into the digital age, introducing a new generation of families to the lessons of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Baking extraordinaire Jasmine will teach families how to make a special cookie inspired by this book while Gregg and Ryan will share fun anecdotes from the book for families.

This event is free! After registration, recipes and the Zoom meeting link will be emailed to you about a week prior to the event. We welcome interaction with kids (and adults!) and happily take questions.
The event runs from 4:00 to 5:00 pm and is free, though registration is required.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Virtual Poetry Reading: "Cleave" by Tiana Nobile w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen ("Ghost Of"), June 11 (online) with White Whale Bookstore.


White Whale Bookstore presents Virtual Poetry Reading: "Cleave" by Tiana Nobile w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen ("Ghost Of") on June 11.
We’re excited and grateful to be on Tiana Nobile’s virtual tour for her collection of poems, Cleave (Hub City Press)! She’ll be joined by local poet and professor, Diana Khoi Nguyen (Ghost Of, Omnidawn) for a reading.

Both poets’ books are available on our Bookshop.org list for recent and upcoming events. Check out our curated lists and picks on our main Bookshop.org affiliate page, or use the search bar in the upper center-right to look for any book. (Using the book's ISBN usually works best.)

"In Tiana Nobile's wonderful Cleave, the condition of the Korean-American adoptee is that of a wandering orbitless moon. The speaker fills the absence of her birth mother with aching questions of home, motherhood, and selfhood. Using the scant documentation she has with her deeply felt imagination, Nobile obsessively revisits the mystery of her birth until she creates her own mythic origin story that is beautiful, melancholic and powerful. Tiana Nobile is a bright new talent." —Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
The event starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available until 6:30 pm on the 11th at free and pay-what-you-can pricepoints.

2020 Korean-American film Minari remains in Pittsburgh through (at least) April 26.


The 2020 Korean-American film Minari, which opened in Pittsburgh on February 11, will remain here through at least April 26. A synopsis, from the distributor:
A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
It will continue at the AMC Loews Waterfront and Tull Family Theater, and tickets are available online.

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