Mai Khoi & The Dissidents in concert at Alphabet City, November 30.

via mai-khoi.com

Mai Khoi & The Dissidents will play a free concert at Alphabet City---and broadcast online---on November 30.

City of Asylum artist-in-residence Mai Khôi presents a concert of brand-new music composed in collaboration with Pittsburgh-based pianist Mark Micchelli.

Khôi founded Mai Khôi and the Dissidents in Vietnam in 2017 as a vehicle to perform her genre-busting songs protesting government censorship and police violence. The band performed secretly at underground shows in Hanoi until threats from the Vietnamese government forced the band to change their name, then ultimately dissolve. Following Khôi’s exile to the United States, she reformed the band with local Pittsburgh musicians while continuing the group’s radical mission.

The American iteration of Mai Khôi and the Dissidents is an eclectic jazz-pop quintet that’s as likely to launch into a noisy protest song or collective improvisation as a lullaby or a love ballad. They have also toured Khôi’s multimedia stage show Bad Activist at high-profile venues in Pittsburgh, New York, and Las Vegas.

The show starts at 7:00 pm at Alphabet City at 40 W. North Ave. on the North Side (map). Tickets are free but registration for the in-person and online performances is required.

2021 Japanese animated movie Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版𝄇) in Pittsburgh, December 6, 8, 11.

The 2021 Japanese animated movie Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版𝄇) will play in Pittsburgh on December 6, 8, and 11. A summary, from Amazon Prime:

The fourth and final installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion. Misato and her anti-Nerv group Wille arrive in Paris, a city now red from core-ization. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower.

It is scheduled to play at the AMC Loews Waterfront; the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson; and the Chartiers Valley Luxury 14. Tickets are available online.

1934 Korean silent film Crossroads of Youth (청춘의 십자로) with live music and narration, November 5 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 1934 Korean silent film Crossroads of Youth (청춘의 십자로), accompanied by live music and byeonsa narration, on November 5.

During the silent film era in Korea, movie screenings were accompanied by live music and narrators call Byeonsa. This special screening of Crossroads of Youth invites you to encounter the film just as Korean audiences did in 1934. The Korean Film Archive and director Tae-young Kim have reimagined the traditional Byeonsa theatrical event, bringing together the film, live musicians, actors, and narration for a dynamic multimedia experience.

The screening will be held on the 7th floor of Alumni Hall (map). Tickets are free, though registration is required.

2022 Japanese animated movie One Piece Film: Red in Pittsburgh, November 3 - 10.

The 2022 Japanese animated movie One Piece Film: Red will play in Pittsburgh November 3 through 10.

One of the most iconic anime and manga series of all time is about to get even bigger with the upcoming arrival of the big screen adventure, One Piece Film: Red. One Piece Film: Red centers around Uta, the most beloved singer in the world who is renowned for concealing her own identity. Now, for the first time ever, Uta will reveal herself to the world at a live concert.

It plays locally at many local theaters, including: the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson; the AMC theaters in Mt. Lebanon, South Hills, and Waterfront; and the Pittsburgh Mills Cinema, and tickets are available online. Please note, some shows are dubbed in English while others are in Japanese with English subtitles.

2002 movie Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ) in Pittsburgh, November 3.

The 2002 movie Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ) will play in Pittsburgh on November 3.

A new Godzilla causes the JSDF to construct a cyborg countermeasure from the original monster's remains. The beast's restless soul is discovered to inhabit the machine as the pilot must learn to find value in her own life. For the first time ever in US cinema's Toho Co Ltd and Fathom Events bring 2002's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla to the silver screen in celebration of Godzilla Day! This limited time screening will feature never before seen on the big screen content direct from Japan along with an exclusive special message for the fans from Toho's Chief Godzilla Officer in Tokyo! Please note: The feature will be subtitled.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the PHoenix Theaters Chartiers Valley Luxury 14, and the Cinemark theater in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Story Saturday: A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi by James Yang, November 19 at Carnegie Museum of Art.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will present "Story Saturday: A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi by James Yang" on November 19.

Join us in the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Decorative Arts and Design galleries for an in-person story time with curatorial assistant Alyssa Velazquez reading A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi by James Yang followed by an art-making activity for children 12 and under.

Refractions: Tishan Hsu & Ryan Inouye, November 3 at Carnegie Museum of Art.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host a discussion with artist Tishan Hsu and Carnegie International associate curator Ryan Inouye on November 3. The event runs from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Join us for a series of in-person conversation-based readings, artist talks, and performances that position artists in the 58th Carnegie International in conversation with people across disciplines, practice, and geography. Designed to expand the context and experience of the exhibition, these live conversations will ignite the imagination with language, music, histories, cultural reflection, personal narratives, and more. Free, museum admission not required. Registration is encouraged, please register below.

2022 Park Chan-wook film Decision to Leave (헤어질 결심) at Harris Theater, October 28 through November 10.

The 2022 Park Chan-wook film Decision to Leave (헤어질 결심) will play in Pittsburgh from October 28 through November 10.

After gracing us with his presence six years ago with his sumptuous and sexually-charged period thriller, THE HANDMAIDEN, master filmmaker Park Chan-wook returns with one of his most dizzying and riveting cinematic concoctions yet. During its rapturous reception at the Cannes Film Festival this year, where it netted Park the Best Director Award, the film was likened to VERTIGO and BASIC INSTINCT. While neither of those tantalizing comparisons is completely off the mark, they shortchange a work of furious vision and invention that finds one of the world’s greatest filmmakers operating at the top of his powers. Hotshot Busan detective Hae-jun’s latest case finds him staring deep into the eyes of a dead hiker and then up at the vertiginous cliff from which he fell. Was this an accident or was foul play involved? This is the riddle he must unravel when he interrogates the man’s Chinese wife, Seo-rae, a caretaker who doesn’t seem particularly heartbroken by the tragedy. Hae-jun dives headfirst into the case, but as he looks deep into Seo-rae’s eyes for answers, a different truth is beginning to build within him.

It plays locally at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map), and tickets are available online. It plays in Korean and Mandarin with English subtitles. It will then play at the Row House Cinema from November 11 through 17.

"John Bingham's Diplomatic Career in Japan," October 25 at Mt. Lebanon Public Library (and online).

The Mt. Lebanon Public Library will host historian Sam Kidder on October 25 to discuss his book Of One Blood All Nations: John Bingham: Ohio Congressman's Diplomatic Career in Meiji Japan (1873-1885) on October 25.

Join us for a lecture and book signing with local historian and linguist Sam Kidder. In his book, Of One Blood All Nations: John Bingham: Ohio Congressman's Diplomatic Career in Meiji Japan (1873-1885), Kidder brings a wealth of experience in Japan to bear on exploring the lesser-known role of Ohio Congressman John Bingham. Best known as the father of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees fundamental rights to all Americans, including those who were formerly enslaved, Bingham was also a key figure in forming the foundational, bilateral ties between the United States and Japan. Though his service occurred from 1873-1885, Bingham remains the longest-serving U.S. chief diplomat in Japan. Kidder’s detailed account of Bingham’s foreign service will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about early diplomatic and cultural relations between the United States and Japan. Bingham was born and grew up in Mercer, PA and Kidder will discuss his connections to this region. Kidder's book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

After graduating from Beloit, Kidder served as a Korean linguist in the U.S. Army, then earned his master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard. He did advanced study in Asian history at the University of Washington and as a Fulbright grantee at Yonsei University, Seoul. As a foreign service officer, he had posts in Seoul, Tokyo, and New Delhi, and later served as executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan for eight years. Sam Kidder resides in Mt. Lebanon in Mission Hills.

The event runs from 1:30 to 2:30 pm in Meeting Room A at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library (map); it will also run simultaneously on Zoom. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Soju tasting with Korean film Midnight (미드나이트), November 14 at Row House Cinema.

As part of the upcoming Modern Korean Cinema series, Row House Cinema will host a soju tasting to accompany the November 14 screening of Midnight (미드나이트).

Wi Ha-Jun (star of Squid Game) stars as a brutal serial killer who ruthlessly hunts down a deaf woman through the streets of South Korea after she witnesses his brutal crime in a new thriller that will keep you guessing and leave you breathless.

. . .

Come watch a fantastic new Korean thriller and taste some soju — a Korean liquor made from sweet potatoes or rice. 21+

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).