French film Return to Seoul in Pittsburgh, March 23, as part of Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival.

The 2022 film Return to Seoul plays in Pittsburgh on March 23 as part of this year's Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival. It plays on March 23 at the Harris Theater downtown (map), 7:30 pm, and includes a Q&A session and reception afterwards. A quick synopsis:

Set over an eight-year time span, Return to Seoul follows Freddie’s journey back to her place of birth — a country to which she has never been and of which she does not know the language. Freddie, played by first-time actor Park Ji-Min, has never felt at home or comfortable in any setting, which may be why she ventures back to Seoul. Over the course of the eight years, Seoul, the city, and Freddie, its citizen, evolve with each new encounter. A story driven through change, Return to Seoul invites audiences to look closely at the experience of adoption, integration, and what it means to be “from” somewhere.

The evening also includes:

Q&A and Discussion with director Davy Chau, writer Laure Badufle, & Katie Ozbek, Director of Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Network

Moderated by Andy Lee, PhD Candidate in Film and Media Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Special Performance by K-Pop Dance Club, CMU
And a reception catered by The Boonseek and Sumi's Cakery.

The festival opens on March 16 and runs through April 2, and has several films from Asia or with an Asian connection.

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).

Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia 3D and 2D at Carnegie Science Center, March 10 through May 29.

Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia 3D and 2D will play at the Carnegie Science Center's Rangos Giant Cinema from March 10 through May 29.

At the height of its power between the 9th and 15th centuries, Angkor, the capital of the Khmer empire, was a resplendent city, considered the most extensive urban complex of the pre-industrial world. But by the late 16th century, the empire was in its death throes. The people of Angkor left not a single word explaining their kingdom’s collapse.

Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia is visually stunning—an adventure where science, mystery, and ancient civilizations intersect, on a scale meant for the Giant Screen. Unravel Angkor’s ancient mysteries with archeologists and scientists who conceive ingenious methods, employ cutting edge technology, and even enlist the help of some unexpected furry friends. Come along this giant screen adventure to unveil the mysteries behind this lost jewel of Cambodia!

2021 Taiwanese film A Letter to A'ma (給阿媽的一封信), and Q&A with the director, April 16 at CMU.

The 2021 Taiwanese film A Letter to A'ma (給阿媽的一封信), and Q&A with the director, will play at Carnegie Mellon University on April 16. The event is hosted by the Pittsburgh Taiwanese Association and co-hosted by Café Philo Pittsburgh and the Taiwanese Scholar Society in Pittsburgh.

In A Letter to A’ma, Taiwanese art teacher/filmmaker Hui-Ling returns to her childhood home to mourn the passing of her grandmother. As she pieces together the fragmented memories of her youth, she finds herself coming face-to-face with the problematic issue of her country’s fractured history. Through a student art project guided by this teacher that has lasted for over a decade, a representational portrait of the island’s collective memory begins to emerge, initiating a process in which Taiwan, an island-nation forgotten by the world and in the midst of forgetting itself after centuries of colonization and decades of dictatorship, can now remember its past and re-envision its postcolonial identity through art.

Director Hui-Ling Chen will attend for a post-screening Q&A!

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- (「鬼滅の刃」上弦集結、そして刀鍛冶の里へ) continues in Pittsburgh through March 15.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- (「鬼滅の刃」上弦集結、そして刀鍛冶の里へ), which opened in Pittsburgh on March 3, will continue here through (at least) March 15. Writes Cruncyroll:

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village-, distributed by Aniplex of America and Crunchyroll, is a feature-length cut of Episodes 10 and 11 of the Entertainment District Arc and the extended Episode 1 of the upcoming Swordsmith Village Arc in 4K with remastered audio.

And a synopsis, from the distributor:

After his family is viciously murdered, a kind-hearted boy named Tanjiro Kamado resolves to become a Demon Slayer in hopes of turning his younger sister Nezuko back into a human. Together with his comrades, Zenitsu and Inosuke, along with one of the top-ranking members of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tengen Uzui, Tanjiro embarks on a mission within the Entertainment District, where they encounter the formidable, high-ranking demons, Daki and Gyutaro.

It is scheduled to play (so far) from March 3 through 9 at the AMC Loews Waterfront, Waterworks Cinema, and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

French film Return to Seoul, Taiwanese film Goddamned Asura (該死的阿修羅), and animated film based on Murakami's Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman help comprise 2023 CMU International Film Festival, from March 16.

Several films with East Asian connections help comprise this year's Carnegie Mellon University International Film festival, starting on March 16. Selections include the 2022 film Return to Seoul, the 2021 Taiwanese film Goddamned Asura (該死的阿修羅), and a 2022 animated film based on Japanese author Haruki Murakami's Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. The festival starts on March 16 and runs through April 2, and tickets are available online.

The Unexpected Reader: an AAPI Writing Workshop, March 13 and 20.

JADED and WritePittsburgh will present "The Unexpected Reader: an AAPI Writing Workshop" on March 13 and 20.

In How to Read Now, Elaine Castillo presents the “unexpected reader” as the reader who “is not remotely imagined — maybe not even imaginable” by writers and publishers. As Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) readers and writers, how do we enter into a place that has historically excluded our stories? How do we create a referential world that holds in tension our differences?

The first class will be dedicated to reading to write better while contending with what may be keeping us from the page. We will work together to learn how to be porous and available to finding inspiration. 

The second class will be about translation — translation across language, translation across form. This class will coincide with artist (and co-founder of JADED) Anny Chen’s show at Bunker Projects, where we will write alongside her work.

The class will culminate into a zine launch and a reading (date and location TBD).

March 13th - Atithi Studios

March 20th - Bunker Projects

The class is only open to AAPI-identifying writers and will be capped at 12-15 students. Priority will go to students who can attend both classes. 

*Classes will be masked and vaxxed.*

The Instructor:

Elina Zhang is an Asian-American writer and organizer based in Pittsburgh, PA, where she received a Creative Nonfiction Writing MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. She was a 2023 Roots. Words. Wounds Fellow and a 2022 Periplus Fellow. She is also a member of the JADED Asian American artists collective.

Registration can be made online, and as the description says priority goes to those who can attend both sessions.

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.

Tickets now available for 2023 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival: 15 selections of new, classic, and animated movies from March 17 through 30.

Tickets are now available for the 2023 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, which will run from March 17 through 30 at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville.  The festival opens on the 17th at 7:15 pm with Electric Dragon 80000 Volts.  The full 15 films, and their categories, are:

New Releases and Pittsburgh Premieres

Lessons in Murder (死刑にいたる病)

Baby Assassins (ベイビーわるきゅーれ)

Oxhead Village (牛首村)
Anime Supremacy! (ハケンアニメ！)

One Night Screenings

Electric Dragon 80000 Volts (エレクトリック·ドラゴン )

Destroy All Monsters (怪獣総進撃)

Godzilla Vs Destoroyah (ゴジラＶＳデストロイア)

Gamera Vs Guiron (ガメラ対大悪獣ギロン)

Kaiju Films

Godzilla (ゴジラ)

Mothra (モスラ)

Shin Godzilla (シン・ゴジラ)

Everything Else

Pompo the Cinephile (映画大好きポンポさん)

Goodbye, Don Glees! (グッバイ、ドン・グリーズ)

Woman in the Dunes (砂の女)

Rashomon (羅生門)

Movie information and tickets are available on the festival's website. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

More theaters announced for Spirited Away: Live on Stage in Pittsburgh in April, other Studio Ghibli Fest films.

More theaters have been announced for Spirited Away: Live on Stage, which will play in Pittsburgh-area theaters on April 23 and 27. From the distributor:

Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award®-winning animated feature film comes to life in this first-ever stage adaptation, full of dazzling sets, captivating musical numbers, and wondrous puppets of beloved characters. Adapted and directed by Tony Award®-winner John Caird (Les Misérables), two unique casts and performances were filmed during the show’s acclaimed 2022 run at Tokyo’s historic Imperial Theatre, featuring Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi as Chihiro.

It will play locally at: the AMC Loews Waterfront; the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, and the North Hills; and the Moviescoop theaters in Waterworks and Cranberry. Tickets for most shows are available online, with Waterworks and Cranberry to come later.