Friday, March 15, 2024

Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival opens today at Row House Lawrenceville, with special focus on Japanese horror.


The Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival opens today at the Row House Lawrenceville, with nearly 20 feature films plus a lengthy list of collaborations and special events. This year's special focus is Japanese horror, but the lineup also includes anime, drama, and classic films. The festival runs through the 28th, and the single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler St. (map).

After another slight delay, Wei Lai set to open March 18 in the North Hills, serving dim sum, bubble tea, and other Chinese dishes.


Wei Lai has just announced a March 18 soft opening, a slight delay from its originally-announced date of March 12 and its second date of March 16. It's a restaurant serving dim sum, bubble tea, and other Chinese dishes coming to the spot formerly occupied by Ting's Kitchen in McIntyre Square just off McKnight Road (map). Its Instagram page has been active the last month in promoting is upcoming menu items.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

2024 Chinese film YOLO (热辣滚烫) continues in Pittsburgh through March 20.


The 2024 Chinese film YOLO (热辣滚烫), which opened in Pittsburgh on March 7, will remain here through at least March 20.
Le Ying (played by Jia Ling) has been staying at home for many years, doing nothing in particular. After graduating from college and working for a while, Le Ying chooses to withdraw from society, closing herself off from social circles, which she believes is the best way to "reconcile" with herself. One day, after several twists of fate, she decides to live life in a different way. In cautiously venturing into the outside world, Le Ying meets boxing coach Hao Kun (played by Lei Jia-Yin). Just when she thinks life is about to take a positive turn, the challenges that follow far exceed her imagination, and her vibrant life is just beginning..
It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Screening of 1929 silent film Piccadilly, starring Anna May Wong, April 16 at Pitt.


Silent Asia, part of the Screenshot: Asia programming organization at the University of Pittsburgh, will present a screening of the 1929 silent film Piccadilly, accompanied by musicians AppalAsia and Tom Roberts performing the original soundtrack.
A screening of E.A. Dupont's 1929 silent film Piccadilly, starring Asian American icon Anna May Wong. The screening will be musically accompanied by local musicians, Appalasia and Tom Roberts. Come immerse yourself in their original score and experience one of early Hollywood's finest stars at her finest.
The event starts at 6:30 pm in 125 Frick Fine Arts (map).

Asia Pop Lecture Series: Dr. Thomas Baudinette, March 20 at Pitt.


The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Thomas Baudinette for the next installment of its Asia Pop Lecture Series on March 20.
Dr. Thomas Baudinette is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies and International Studies at Macquarie University. A cultural anthropologist, his research primarily explores how popular media and fandom culture inform knowledge about gender and sexuality across East and Southeast Asia. He is the author of Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media, Masculinity in Tokyo (University of Michigan Press, 2021) and Boys Love Media in Thailand: Celebrity, Fans, and Transnational Asian Queer Popular Culture (Bloomsbury, 2023). He i currently working on his third book, tentatively titled Queer Fantasies of Asia: Japanese and Korean Media Fandom in the Philippines.
The event starts at 6:00 pm in 202 Frick Fine Arts (map).

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

"We Learn" Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Korean classes resume at Carnegie Library in Oakland, Saturdays from March 16 through May 18.


via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branch in Oakland will resume its free "We Learn" Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Korean classes Saturdays from March 16. 

K-pop event | Random Play Dance with FRESA and Yanlai Dance Academy, March 23 at University of Pittsburgh.


Fresh Entertainment by Student Artists (FRESA at Pitt) and Yanlai Dance Academy will team up for the next Random Play Dance at the University of Pittsburgh on March 23. 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the William Pitt Union patio and all are welcome.

Oscar-nominated 2023 Japanese + Wim Wenders film Perfect Days remains in Pittsburgh through March 21.


The 2023 Japanese film Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders, which returned to Pittsburgh from February 22, will continue here through at least March 21. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the movie first played in Pittsburgh in November.
Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.
It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill tickets are available online.

2024 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編) stays in Pittsburgh through March 20.


The 2024 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 22, will stay here through at least March 20.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will feature “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light” (Episode 11) from the Swordsmith Village Arc, featuring the conclusion of the fierce battle between Tanjiro and Upper Four demon Hantengu, as well as Nezuko's triumph over the sun. Seamlessly followed by Episode 1 of the highly anticipated Hashira Training Arc, featuring the start of training conducted by the Hashira in preparation for the forthcoming final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, an episode never before seen by audiences.
It plays at the Waterworks Cinema and the AMC Loews Waterfront. Tickets are available online; please note, some shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while others are dubbed in English.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Japanese animated films Rascal Does Not Dream double feature in Pittsburgh, March 24 and 25.


Two 2023 Japanese animated films, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out (青春ブタ野郎はおでかけシスターの夢を見ない) and Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (青春ブタ野郎はランドセルガールの夢を見ない) will play in Pittsburgh on March 24 and 25 as a double feature. The films adapt volumes eight and nine, respectively, of the manga series. Wikipedia provides a general overview of the manga series:
High school student Sakuta Azusagawa's life takes a turn for the unexpected when he meets teenage actress Mai Sakurajima, dressed as a bunny girl, wandering through a library and not being noticed by anyone else there. Mai is intrigued that Sakuta is the only one who can see her, as other people are unable to see her, even when she is dressing normally or attempting to stay away from celebrity life. Calling this phenomenon "Adolescence Syndrome", Sakuta decides to solve this mystery, while continuing to get closer to Mai and meeting other girls who suffer from "Adolescence Syndrome" as well.
It is scheduled to play locally at many local theaters including: the AMC Loews Waterfront; the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, and Robinson; the Pittsburgh Mills Cinema; and the Phoenix Theaters Chartiers Valley Luxur 14 + PTX, and tickets are available online. The March 24 shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while the March 25 ones are dubbed in English.

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