Short films from Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Asian America part of Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival, November 18 - 21.

Though the Three Rivers Film Festival will feature no full-length Asian films this year, its companion festival, the Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival running from November 18 through 21, will feature shorts from Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Asian America.

The program of films includes "Americanized," "Raspberry," and "Windup" from the USA; "Annah la Javanaise" from Indonesia; "Colorful" and "Georgia" from Korea; and "Dinner" from Vietnam. The short films are grouped into various blocks and play at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty (map) and, in some cases, virtually. Tickets are available online.
Still from "Windup."

Still from "Colorful."

AAPI COVID Vaccine Booster Clinic at UPMC Mercy Southside, November 14.

Marian Lien of OCA Pittsburgh shares news of an AAPI COVID Vaccine Booster Clinic taking place on November 14.

We will be holding an AAPI COVID Vaccine Booster Clinic THIS SUNDAY Nov. 14th. from 9am to 12pm with translators on site. All vaccines Moderna, Pfizer, and J&J will be available. Reminder, to have a booster, you must be at least 6 months from the date of your second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or first J&J vaccine. We also have a limited supply of children's vaccines available for those 5 years old to <12 years old. We will also have free flu vaccines on hand.

It will be at the UPMC Southside Clinic (2000 Mary Street Pittsburgh, PA 15203). No need to bring your ID, just your vaccine card so the nurses can fill out. Everyone is welcome!

Japanese-English Language Social Hour at Pitt, November 18.

Interior of Pitt's Cathedral of Learning, from the 2019 Yasuda Women's University promotional catalog.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present an Japanese-English Language Social Hour on November 18.

A Japanese-English language social hour to bring together visiting students from Yasuda University and local Pitt students. An evening of language and cultural exchange.

Pitt's English Language Institute has hosted large cohorts of Yasuda Women's University students each fall since 2016. The event starts at 4:00 pm in the Global Hub on the first floor of Posvar Hall, and is open to members of the Pitt community compliant with its health regulations.

New Japanese animated movie Sword Art Online the Movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (劇場版 ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア) in Pittsburgh, from December 3.

Showtimes were just announced for the 2021 Japanese animated movie apanese animated movie Sword Art Online the Movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (劇場版 ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア), which will play in Pittsburgh from December 3 through 9. A synopsis of the film that is based on a manga series:

“There’s no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die…” One month after Kayaba Akihiko’s game of death began, the death toll continues to rise, two thousand players having already lost their lives to the ultra-difficult VRMMO world of Sword Art Online. On the Day of the strategy meeting to plan out the first-floor boss battle, Kirito, a solo player who vows to fight alone to get stronger, runs into a rare, high-level female player. She gracefully dispatches powerful monsters with a single rapier that flashes like a shooting star in the night.

It has been announced so far for the Cinemark theater in McCandless, and tickets are available online. Shows on December 3, 4, and 9 are in Japanese with English subtitles, while shows on December 7 and 8 are dubbed in English.

Miyazaki Week at Row House Cinema, from November 12; $28 all-you-can-see week pass available.

Following its Wong Kar-Wai film series from November 5, the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville will present Miyazaki Week from November 12 through 18. The film series consists of 1979's Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (ルパン三世 カリオストロの城), 1997's Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), and 2001's Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し). Tickets and showtime information is now available online; there is a $28 all-you-can see weekly pass available for the series as well. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street (map) in Lawrenceville.

"Innovative Curricular Models in East Asia," November 17 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Institute for International Studies in Education will host "Innovative Curricular Models in East Asia" on November 17.

IISE is honored and proud to host Huiyuan Ye (Pitt alum), Research Fellow of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Duke Kunshan University in China; Weiyan Xiong (Pitt alum) Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong; and Gerardo Blanco-Ramírez, Associate Professor and Academic Director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College.

Our distinguished participants will be sharing their work/study on innovative liberal arts and sciences curricular models in East Asian region.

The free event runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm on Zoom, and registration is required.

"Imperial Gateway: Colonial Taiwan and Japanese Expansion in South China and Southeast Asia, 1895–1945," November 15 at Pitt.

via @seijishirane

The University of Pittsburgh will host Dr. Seiji Shirane and his talk "Imperial Gateway: Colonial Taiwan and Japanese Expansion in South China and Southeast Asia, 1895–1945" on November 15, part of the center's Asia Now Fall Lecture Series.

This talk examines how Japanese colonizers and Taiwanese subjects transformed colonial Taiwan—the sub-tropical island Japan acquired from China in 1895—into a staging ground for imperial expansion across the East and South China seas. Taking advantage of Taiwan's proximity and cultural affinities with South China and Southeast Asia, Japanese colonial leaders innovated new strategies to compete with the Chinese and Western powers for regional hegemony. They mobilized Taiwanese overseas as economic and cultural brokers in the pre-war period (1895–1937) and as military personnel during the Asia-Pacific wars (1937–45). Studying the intricate ties between colonial governance and international relations helps us transcend the conventional emphasis on two-way relations between Japan's home islands and each of its colonies. A regional approach to Taiwan allows us to recover transnational networks often neglected due to divisions in area studies. Japanese imperialism was a contested process among not only state agencies but also mobile colonial subjects whose interests did not easily map on to national, local, or ethnic categories. The overseas Taiwanese in particular challenge prevailing assumptions of imperial hierarchies. Gradations of power and categories of identity—colonizer and colonized—were much more fluid outside Taiwan's territorial borders.

It runs from 4:30 to 5:45 pm in 211 Lawrence Hall, and is free and open to members of the Pitt community who abide by the university's health guidelines.

2021 movie My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ワールドヒーローズミッション) continues in Pittsburgh, through November 17.

he 2021 movie My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ワールドヒーローズミッション), which opened in Pittsburgh on October 29, will play here through at least November 17. A synopsis, from the distributor.

When a sinister organization threatens to wipe out all superhuman powers, the fate of the world is on the line. With two hours until the collapse of civilization, Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki manage to work as a team, but there’s still one problem. Deku’s on the run for murder.

It will continue at the AMC theaters at the Waterfront and South Hills Village Mall. Tickets are available online; please note, some shows are dubbed in English while others are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Looking For A Lady With Fangs And A Moustache at Pitt, November 13.

SCREENSHOT:ASIA will present another screening of Looking For A Lady With Fangs And A Moustache, which opened last month's SCREENSHOT:ASIA film festival, on November 13. From an April 8 New York Times review:

In Khyentse Norbu’s “Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache,” a Nepalese entrepreneur searches for spiritual enlightenment, hoping to avert a fatal prophecy. Looking to set up a new cafe, Tenzin (Tsering Tashi Gyalthang) sees unnerving visions after scouting an abandoned temple. With mounting fear, he follows the gnomic suggestions of a Buddhist monk in shades and a master sage, who insists that he find a goddess manifest on earth, known as a dakini.
The writer-director Norbu, a Buddhist spiritual leader making his fifth feature, presents Tenzin as a hip modern guy in bluejeans with a wide smile that vanishes as soon as he has to seek self-awareness. The cozy streets of Kathmandu become like a place without a map to Tenzin as he scans passing strangers for signs of divine femininity and leaves his business partners in the lurch. There’s a slight narrative echo of romantic comedy as the monk and the master sage feed him tips and ritual gestures, and it appears the woman he seeks could be right under his nose, in the form of a singer (Tenzin Kunsel) from his music lessons.

It will play at the Frick Fine Arts Building in Oakland at 7:00 pm, and registration is required. It is free and open to the Pitt community and to registered guests. (Those who do not have a valid Pitt ID will need to register at least 24 hours in advance in order to have guest access granted.)

1986 Studio Ghibli film Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) in Pittsburgh, November 14, 15, and 18.

The 1986 Studio Ghibli film Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) will play in Pittsburgh on November 14, 15, and 18 as part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2021. From the distributor:

Castle in the Sky is a timeless story of courage and friendship, with stunning animation from acclaimed Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki.

This high-flying adventure begins when Pazu, an engineer’s apprentice, spies a young girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky, held aloft by a glowing pendant. Both Sheeta and Pazu are searching for the legendary floating castle, Laputa, and they vow to travel there together to unravel the mystery of the luminous crystal. But their quest won’t be easy, as soon they are being pursued by greedy air pirates, the military, and secret government agents, who all seek the power Sheeta alone can control.The English-dubbed cast includes the vocal talents of Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, Mandy Patinkin, and more!

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson, and tickets are available online. The November 14 and 18 shows are dubbed in English while the November 15 show is in Japanese with English subtitles.