2022 Park Chan-wook film Decision to Leave (헤어질 결심) returns to Harris Theater, February 13.

The 2022 Park Chan-wook film Decision to Leave (헤어질 결심), which played in Pittsburgh from October 28 through November 10, will return on February 13.

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.

Concert film BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas continues in Pittsburgh through February 8.

The concert film BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas, which opened in Pittsburgh theaters on February 1, will stay here through (at least) February 8.

Join RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook in this special cinematic cut, re-edited and remixed for the big screen. Watch new close-up angles and a whole new view of the entire concert, BTS Yet To Come in Busan.

It plays locally through the 5th at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson, and stays at the Cinemarks in North Hills and Monroeville from the 6th. Tickets are available online.

Zen Shakuhachi Concert with Cornelius Boots, March 19 at Heinz Chapel.

Heinz Chapel will host "Zen Shakuhachi Concert & Meditation with Grandmaster Cornelius Boots" on March 19.

Cornelius Boots presents the living tradition of shakuhachi — the rare bamboo flute from ancient Japanese Buddhism. Meditation, music and nature form the roots of this earthy and ephemeral performing art. Natural bore (jinashi) and larger, low-pitched flutes (bass or alto) flutes are featured on this program: they provide a strong connection – for both the player and the listener – to a deeper, almost primeval past: echoes from the ancient days of the Earth.

The concert is $20 for general admission tickets, $10 for University of Pittsburgh faculty and staff, and free for University of Pittsburgh students. Heinz Chapel is located in Oakland, across the lawn from the Cathedral of Learning (map).

Fangirl Fantasy: K-Pop Night, February 18 at Mr. Smalls Theatre.

Mr. Smalls Theatre will host "Fangirl Fantasy: K-Pop Night" on February 18, 2023. A summary of the "ultimate fangirl experience" that travels around North America, from ths promotion's official site:

Fangirl Fantasy is the ultimate fangirl experience created by a fangirl for a fangirl. A night where all your favorite music is played in one place. It’s a night where you can be yourself unapologetically.

Fangirl Fantasy events celebrate the passion and enthusiasm fangirls share for their favorite artists. We curate events featuring fangirl favorites, including The Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, One Direction, and more!

Tickets for the all-ages show are available online for $18, plus the multitude of fees. Mr. Smalls Theatre is located at 400 Lincoln Ave. in Millvale (map).

2023 Chinese film The Wandering Earth 2 (流浪地球2) continues in Pittsburgh through February 8.

The 2023 Chinese film The Wandering Earth 2 (流浪地球2), which opened in Pittsburgh on January 25, will remain here through (at least) February 8. A synopsis, from the distributor:

The much-anticipated prequel to 2019 sci-fi blockbuster THE WANDERING EARTH—the #5 highest-grossing non-English film of all-time—lands in North American theaters just in time for Chinese New Year.

In the near future, after learning that the sun is rapidly burning out and will obliterate Earth in the process, humans build enormous engines to propel the planet to a new solar system, far out of reach of the sun’s fiery flares. However, the journey out into the universe is perilous, and humankind’s last shot at survival will depend on a group of young people brave enough to step up and execute a dangerous, life-or-death operation to save the earth.

The movie was the highest-grossing film in China during the Lunar New Year holiday this month. It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Bad Activist: Story, Song, and Spectacle with the "Vietnamese Lady Gaga" at Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, March 25.

The Pittsburgh Humanities Festival announced its line-up today and will feature "Bad Activist: Story, Song, and Spectacle with the 'Vietnamese Lady Gaga'" on March 25.

Bad Activist is a multimedia musical performance dramatizing the true story of singer-songwriter/activist Mai Khoi (dubbed “the Vietnamese Lady Gaga”) and her journey from pop stardom to purpose. Performed by Khoi herself, it incorporates storytelling, live video, archival footage, and original animation in a bold evocation of her past, present and future hopes.

Work progresses on new Many More Asian Market location in Strip District.

Work continues on the new location for Many More Asian Market at 2767 Liberty Ave (map), into first-floor warehouse space measuring over 24,000 square feet. It was announced last fall that it will move to a new location a few blocks southwest from its current spot at 3050 Smallman St. near the border of Lawrenceville and the Strip District (map). The store says the plan to open at the new location in the summer, and information about the project is available from the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, where the floroplan and lot design plans are detailed.
The proposed floorplan of the new site is below. The entrance and exit will be on 28th street. The lot will also feature on-site automobile and bicycle parking:

Many More Asian Market opened in October 2013. It will be one of several Asian groceries to move to bigger spaces lately: Oriental Market in the North Hills moved to a larger space on McKnight Road in March 2021, and Panda Supermarket in Squirrel Hill moved a few storefronts down to a two-story space in September 2021.

Win-Win Kung Fu Culture Center 2023 Summer Intensive Program for kids' fitness, culture, and language training, now accepting applications; $30 discount with registration by May 31.

Win-Win Kung Fu Culture Center in Squirrel Hill is now accepting registration for its 2023 Summer Intensive Program, with a $30 discount on weekly tuition for registrations made by May 31.

Benefits of Win-Win Kung Fu Summer Intensive Program

Major

• Learn Kung Fu, free style Chinese kickboxing (sanda) and other forms of Chinese martial arts and Chinese language daily, with strong emphasis on the basics.

• Focus greatly on exercise and conditioning and gain skills needed for other sports and activities as well.

• Improve your concentration and focus with authentic Chinese martial arts training.

• Boot camp for beginners

• Intensive training for intermediate and advanced Wushu as well as a boot camp for beginners.

The 98 Contemporary Thai Cuisine soft opening today, January 29.

The 98 Contemporary Thai Cuisine is holding its soft open today in Fox Chapel. Run by the owner of Took Took 98 in Squirrel Hill, it's located at 1034 Freeport Rd. (map), until recently home of one of three Thai Place locations around the city. Banners went up for the restaurant in September.

2022 documentary Free Chol Soo Lee, followed by virtual discussion with directors, February 9.

The 2022 documentary Free Chol Soo Lee will play in Pittsburgh on February 9.

FREE CHOL SOO LEE tells the story of a Korean American death row inmate convicted of a 1973 Chinatown gangland murder in San Francisco, and the activists who led a pan-Asian American movement to free him. Spanning the late 1970s to the early ’80s, this movement would for the first time bring together young, third-generation Asian American activists, many of them politically radical, with older, conservative Korean immigrants. Their unlikely victory, with Lee walking into freedom in 1983 after 10 years in prison, would inspire many young supporters to pursue careers dedicated to social justice. The screening will be followed by a (virtual) discussion with directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi and an in-person discussion with 1Hood Media.

It played here last August, and returns now at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map). Tickets are available online.