[Review] Community groups bring Sight, autobiographical film about Dr. Ming Wang, to Pittsburgh for two days of advance screenings, August 5 and 6.

[Note: Organizers asked me to write a review of the movie Sight ahead of the public screenings on August 5 and 6, and I happily obliged. I will attempt a fuller write-up ahead of its wider theatrical release in October.]

"The present is made possible by the past" is a common refrain among characters in Sight, a new movie based on the life (and the 2016 autobiography) of pioneering laser eye surgeon Dr. Ming Wang. It's the ghosts of this past, particularly past traumas from the Cultural Revolution, that push Wang's efforts to help the blind see in Sight, both literally and figuratively.

Sight is based on the true story of eye surgeon Dr. Ming Wang, and his autobiography From Darkness to Sight: A Journey from Hardship to Healing. Starring Terry Chen (Almost Famous, Falling) as Dr. Wang and Greg Kinnear as godfather and mentor Misha Bartnovsky, it traces his life from poverty in Hangzhou through superlative success on the college entrance exam to late-night study sessions at MIT to his reputation as a "miracle worker."  It was filmed in 2021 and spent nearly two years in distribution limbo before this summer’s barnstorming promotional tour. Sight will have three free advance screenings in Pittsburgh on August 5 and 6 before returning to theatres nationwide from October 27.

Kangdaniel: My Parade in Pittsburgh, August 30 and September 2.

The new concert documentary film Kangdaniel: My Parade will play in Pittsburgh on August 30 and September 2.

Following his explosive career as a member of one of Korea’s hottest K-pop groups, KANGDANIEL has chosen to walk down a path all his own. While he faced obstacles due to circumstances outside of his control in the early days of his solo career, it was during this time that KANGDANIEL explored and discovered his true colors as an artist. With the release of his first studio album, KANGDANIEL stands before fans once again with “FIRST PARADE,” his first solo concert in Seoul that also marks the start of an epic world tour. This concert documentary film chronicles Daniel’s time in the rehearsal room, his stripped back and natural self with the people closest to him, and a glimpse into his mindset and resolve through heartfelt interviews. As we cheer for KANGDANIEL on his path of transforming his dreams into reality, we soon find ourselves cheering for our own journeys as well. Here’s to KANGDANIEL, here’s to MY PARADE.

It is scheduled to play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

University of Pittsburgh library orientations in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, September 5 and 6.

The University of Pittsburgh Library System will hold orientation sessions for international students and visiting scholars in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The Chinese and Japanese sessions will be held on September 5, and the Korean session on September 6. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Would you like to know...

A librarian who speaks your native language?
The difference between academic libraries in the U.S. and libraries in your home country?
The many wonderful services that the library offers to help your area of study and research at Pitt?
If so, please attend our library orientation sessions.

WILDNESS: JADED BLOCK PARTY with Rivers of Steel, August 12, presents film screening of Last Mayor of Chinatown, cookie decorating, performances, and more.

JADED, Pittsburgh’s first Asian American & Pacific Island (AAPI) artist collective, will present WILDNESS: JADED BLOCK PARTY with Rivers of Steel on August 12 at the Waterfront.

JADED presents WILDNESS, a daylong festival at the historic Pump House featuring a film screening of The Last Mayor of Chinatown, performances, live music, and AAPI vendors sharing art, food, & services. Come out and celebrate women and queer AAPI folks through events and workshops, uplifting the work of local filmmakers, writers, artists, and activists.

Events:

3-4pm Opening Remarks & Screening of “The Last Mayor of Chinatown” (plus discussion with Director Lena Chen & Shirley Yee)

4-6:30pm DJ Samira Mendoza, Food/Art Vendors, & Workshops

6:30-8pm Performances

Steel Dragon Martial Arts

Anisha Baid

Davine Byon

Bonnie Fan

Mango

Sara Tang

Workshops:

4pm Cookie Decorating with Jasmine Cho (until supplies last)

4:30 Asian Calligraphy: A Touch of the Art with Eva Hui

Vendors:

ManduHandu, Yhet Pinoy Cuisine, Greenhouse Co-Op and so much more

Raffle Prizes:

A gift card from Bahn Mi and Ti

Prototype PGH Membership

A session with First Light Reiki

and much more!

The event runs from 3 to 8 pm at the Rivers of Steel: Pump House & Water Tower (map).  Donations are encouraged online.  

Mongolian folk-fusion band Tuvergen in Pittsburgh, September 21.

Tuvergen, a Chicago-based trio performing Mongolian folk-fusion, will perform in Pittsburgh on September 21.

An emerging act at world music festivals across the U.S., Tuvergen Band (“galloping” in Mongolian) is a Chicago-based folk-fusion trio founded by Tamir Hargana (lead vocals, folk lutes, morin khuur), Naizal Hargana (morin khuur, vocals), and Brent Roman (percussion, didgeridoo, vocals) in 2020. Hailing from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, Tamir and Naizal bring some of the country’s most distinctive sounds to Tuvergen Band, including the cello-like horsehead fiddle (morin khuur), various folk lutes (the Tuvan doshpuluur and West Mongolian tovshuur), and khoomii throat singing. An ethnomusicologist and Asian percussion specialist, Roman augments these sounds with a custom hybrid drum kit of twenty global percussion instruments and didgeridoo. The trio use this rich instrumental palette to perform what they call “modern nomadic music,” incorporating bluegrass, blues, rock, and more into its repertoire of Mongolian and Tuvan folk songs and originals.

Tuvergen will perform at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside (map) from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts in conversation with Robert Yune, August 24 in Shadyside.

White Whale Bookstore will present Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts in conversation with Robert Yune on August 24 at the First Unitarian Church in Shadyside.

Join us for an in-person event offsite at the First Unitarian Church in Shadyside with one of our favorite writers, Celeste Ng, for the paperback release of her New York Times bestselling novel, Our Missing Hearts. She'll be in conversation with Robert Yune.

Acclaimed 2023 film Past Lives returns to Pittsburgh, from August 4.

The 2023 film Past Lives, which opened in Pittsburgh on June 22, will return to the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill from August 4 through 10. A synopsis, from the distributor A24:

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Tickets are available online.

Indonesian rock band Voice of Baceprot in Pittsburgh, August 11.

The Indonesian rock band Voice of Baceprot will play a show in Pittsburgh on August 11. Their official site introduces them thus:

Young, Indonesian, hijab-wearing, female metal trio Voice Of Baceprot (VOB) have been covering the members’ favourite metal songs since they learned to play their instruments. Their prowess at playing these covers got them attention from fans and media worldwide and enabled them to develop to the point where they could, as a band, create original songs.

Consisting of Marsya (vocals and guitar), Widi (bass), and Sitti (drums), the trio first met when they were still junior high school students in their hometown of Singajaya, a small village two hours’ drive away from the city of Garut, West Java. The word “baceprot” from their band name comes from the Sundanese language meaning “noisy”. It was chosen to represent the type of music that they play.

Since their formation, VOB have become a point of discussion for a host of renowned global media, including The New York Times, NPR, BBC, DW and The Guardian, featuring them in the pages of their online publication. VOB were recently named by heavy metal and rock magazine Metal Hammer as “the Metal Band the World Needs Right Now”.

They'll play at the Hard Rock Cafe Pittsburgh, located at 230 W. Station Square Drive (map) in Station Square. The show starts at 7:00 pm, and guests under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

MAMAMOO: My Con The Movie in Pittsburgh, August 9 and 12.

The tour film MAMAMOO: My Con The Movie will play in Pittsburgh on August 9 and 12.

"1, 2, 3, Eoi!" Join the new powerhouses of K-pop as they embark on their first world tour in the highly anticipated film MAMAMOO: MY CON THE MOVIE. Idols Solar, Moon Byul, Whee In, and Hwa Sa invite you on their special and thrilling journey. Witness their captivating vocals and dynamic performances, then delve into their personal and heartfelt stories like never before, offering a rare glimpse behind the scenes. Beginning with the MAMAMOO WORLD TOUR - SEOUL, the group's story unfolds. Don’t miss this unforgettable experience on the big screen with the musical phenomenon – MAMAMOO!

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

[New date] Korea-based travelling music family TENGGER in Pittsburgh, October 3.

The three-piece travelling music family band Tengger will play in Pittsburgh on October 3 as part of their North American tour (a change frmo the original October 4 date). Their official site describes their sound thus:

텐거/天郷
TENGGER is a traveling musical family, made up of Pan-Asian couple, itta and Marqido, who create their brand of psychedelic New-Age drone magic through the use of harmonium, voice, and toy instruments (played by itta) and analogue synths (played by Marqido). The duo originally started out with the moniker “10” but since the birth of their son RAAI (who joins them on tour and often on stage) in 2012, have called themselves TENGGER (meaning ‘unlimited expanse of sky’ in Mongolian) to mark the expansion of the family. It also means ‘huge sea’ in Hungarian. Travel, as spiritual experience in real environments, and the sound between the space and the audience have been central themes of their works. The family’s yearly pilgrimages inform every aspect of their art.

They will play at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside (map), from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.