Film Spirited Away: Live on Stage at Row House Lawrenceville, November 19 and 23.

The film Spirited Away: Live on Stage will play at the Row House Lawrenceville on November 19 and 23, part of this month's Studio Ghibli Week.

A young girl named Chihiro finds herself trapped in a mysterious world inhabited by spirits and when her parents are turned into pigs, she must rescue them. The movie version of the stage production was filmed during the play’s 2022 run at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo.

Tickets are available online. Studio Ghibli Week runs from November 17 through 23, featuring 2008's Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ), 1997's Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), 2005's Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城), 1986's Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ), as well as Spirited Away: Live on Stage. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

"Book Excerpts We Should Read, Talk About and Act On: Year of the Tiger," January 4 with Carnegie Library, JCC, and Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host "Book Excerpts We Should Read, Talk About and Act On: Year of the Tiger" virtually on January 4.

Join JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s CivicCLP for a Zoom conversation based on book excerpts that can impact how we move towards reconciliation as a community and as individuals. No need to read the book; we will share excerpts and guide discussion.

 

Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life

 

Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer.

The event runs from 7:00 to 8:00 pm and is free, though registration is required.

Filipino American Association' of Pittsburgh Multicultural Day Festival, November 11 in West Mifflin.

The Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh will host a Multicultural Day festival will host a Multicultural Day Festival on November 11. It runs from 3 to 6 pm at the Philippine Center at 200 Church St. in West Mifflin (map).

Jho's Pool Hall coming soon to Squirrel Hill.

A recent Pittsburgh Business Times article summarizing some of the recent businesses coming to Squirrel Hill gives a name to the project at 5846 Forbes Ave. (map) in the old Panda Supermarket location. The article says the spot will soon be home to Jho's Pool Hall. We read on PennsylvAsia back in December 2022 that a Liquor Control Board Application went up on the grocery store doors, and there has been slow-moving progress inside the space since then. The spot will be run by the team behind Squirrel Hill's Tan Lac Vien.

2023 Japanese + Wim Wenders film Perfect Days at Three Rivers Film Festival 2023, November 11 and 12.

The 2023 Japanese film Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders, will play in Pittsburgh on November 11 and 12 as part of the Three Rivers Film Fest 2023.

Who knew Japan has the most elegant public restrooms in the world? Wim Wender’s Perfect Days is a poetic reflection on finding the simple beauty that surrounds us in our everyday world. Kôji Yakusho delivers an award-winning performance as Hirayama, a quite-contented man who spends his days working as a cleaner of public toilets in Tokyo. His thoroughly structured daily routine reveals his passion for music and books and his love of the trees he photographs. As we are immersed in his daily life, a series of unexpected encounters gradually expose more of his past.

It plays at the Waterworks Cinema on the 11th at 7:30 pm and at the Harris Theater in Downtown's Cultural District on the 12th at 4:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

"Japanese Demons: Oni," November 8 at Pitt.

The Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh will host Dr. Noriko Reider for a lecture on "Japanese Demons: Oni" on November 8. The talk starts at 4:00 pm in 501 Cathedral of Learning.

New movie Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0) in Pittsburgh from November 30.

The latest Godzilla movie, Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0), will play in Pittsburgh from November 30.

Japan, devastated after the war, faces a new threat in the form of Godzilla. How will the country confront this impossible situation?

It plays locally in Japanese with English subtitles at AMC Loews Waterfront, AMC Classic Mt. Lebanon, AMC Classic Westmoreland, and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Korean singer BoyWithUke coming to Pittsburgh, April 27.

Korean singer BoyWithUke will perform in Pittsburgh on April 27 as part of his Lucid Dreams Tour. Ones To Watch summarized his sound in 2021:

While BoyWithUke’s music may drift toward popular indie and lo-fi sounds, incorporating his ukelele sets him apart from other artists heading down the same sonic path. In addition, his instrumental talent adds a fresh layer of artistry, blurring the line between acoustic and electronic beat sounds, often making you forget that one or the other is even there.

He will play at Stage AE and tickets for the 7:00 pm show are available online.

1995 film Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊) in Pittsburgh as next installment of Satoshi Kon Fest, November 8 - 12.

The 1995 Japanese film Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊) will play in Pittsburgh November 8 - 12 as the next installment of a Satoshi Kon Fest playing nationally.

Anime Expo Cinema Nights invites you to return to the visually stunning and poignant classic GHOST IN THE SHELL. 2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of "The Puppet Master," a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity. Director Mamoru Oshii's award-winning cyber-tech thriller, based on the comic book by Shirow Masamune, is lauded as one of the leading Japanese animation films of all time.

The first installment, Perfect Blue, plays locally September 6 - 10. Ghost in the Shell will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

2023 Japanese movie Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning (デジモンアドベンチャー02 THE BEGINNING) in Pittsburgh, November 8 and 9.

The 2023 Japanese movie Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning (デジモンアドベンチャー02 THE BEGINNING) will play in Pittsburgh on November 8 and 9.

It’s 2012, and ten years have passed since the adventure in the Digital World. Daisuke Motomiya is now twenty, and he and the rest of the DigiDestined seem to be changing bit by bit in terms of appearance and lifestyle. Then one day, a giant Digitama suddenly appears in the sky over Tokyo Tower. Daisuke and the others encounter a mysterious young man named Lui Ohwada, who informs them that he’s the first ever DigiDestined in the world… The feature will include an introduction from the director, Tomohisa Taguchi. PLUS, as a special bonus, the first 50 guests to arrive at each night’s screening will receive a complimentary Digimon Card Game Tamer Party Pack -THE BEGINNING- ver. 2.0, which includes 3 out of 14 possible cards from the new Digimon Card Game deck commemorating the film (while supplies last, first-come, first served).

Guests should check with the theater in advance to see if they are participating in the promotions. It is scheduled to play at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the AMC Classic Westmoreland, and the Cinemark Theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; the November 8 shows are dubbed in English while the November 9 ones are in Japanese with English subtitles.