Chia Kwa and "ASMR & How Strangers On The Internet Discovered It In Common" at Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, April 6.

Chia Kwa and their talk "ASMR & How Strangers On The Internet Discovered It In Common" will be part of the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival on April 6.

Chia Kwa, a specialist in immersive theater and experiential entertainment, leads a interactive demonstration and exploration on ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) with audience participation using silent disco headsets and additional audio technology.

ASMR is best known as a modern, online phenomenon where its fans watch hypnotic videos of brushing, tapping, waving, etc. in order to relax. But long before the term was coined online, people experienced it in their everyday lives... they just didn't know how to talk about it. Join Chia Kwa of Whisperlodge on an exploration of the power of words, and how finding the right ones allowed anonymous internet strangers to unite into a thriving community. This presentation will end with a live ASMR demonstration using binaural audio technology.

Whisperlodge has pioneered the practice and performance of live, in-person ASMR since 2016. They’ve completed 16 sold-out runs of their cult immersive show in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Singapore, and have been featured on Netflix, PBS, the New York Times, and more.

The event starts at 7:30 pm at the Greer Cabaret Theater in the Cultural District (map), and tickets are available online.

An Evening with Yunte Huang, Author of Daughter of the Dragon, April 3 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present "An Evening with Yunte Huang, Author of Daughter of the Dragon" on April 3.

A Guggenheim Fellow, Yunte Huang has taught at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is a professor of English. The author of “Inseparable” and the Edgar Award-winning biography “Charlie Chan”-both National Book Critics Circle Award finalists-Huang speaks frequently about American popular culture. At once a reclamation of Wong’s life and a trenchant social commentary, “Daughter of the Dragon”, with its lyrical writing and period illustrations, becomes a truly resonant work of history that reflects the raging anti-Chinese xenophobia, unabashed sexism, and ageism toward women that defined both Hollywood and America in Wong’s too-brief time on earth.

The lecture starts at 6:00 pm in the Alcoa Room of the Barco Law Building (map).

Miyazaki film The Boy and the Heron (君たちはどう生きるか) remains in Pittsburgh-area theaters through (at least) April 3.

The 2023 Hayao Miyazaki film The Boy and the Heron (君たちはどう生きるか), which opened across Pittsburgh-area theaters on December 7, will continue in local theater throughs (at least) April 3. A synopsis of the movie, from the distributor:

Hayao Miyazaki's first feature film in 10 years, The Boy and the Heron is a hand-drawn, original story written and directed by the Academy Award®-winning director. Produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, the film features a musical score from Miyazaki's long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. The theme song for the film "Spinning Globe" was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.

. . .

A young boy named Mahito
yearning for his mother
ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead.
There, death comes to an end,
and life finds a new beginning.


A semi-autobiographical fantasy
about life, death, and creation,
 in tribute to friendship,
from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

It continues to play locally at AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theater in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Freshworks: Caroline Yoo and Davine Byon, April 5-6 at Kelly Strayhorn Theater.

The Kelly Strayhorn Theater will host "Freshworks: Caroline Yoo and Davine Byon" on April 5 and 6.

Prophecies & Soy Sauce Shots is an experimental performance with artists Caroline Yoo and Davine Byon. They dance together, rejecting the permanently aspirational future and reflecting on the consequences of ancestral dreamwork. The performance asks, are we dreaming in resistance of or within the confines of colonized standards of success? They move through three vignettes, using projections, sculpture, music, and the exchange of dreams. This new performance in process pieces together a messy, precious home in the diaspora, and asks whose dreams – past, present, and future – we are living for.

Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for Pittsburgh-based artists and collaborators. It supports playful exploration in performance through interdisciplinary work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia. The program provides artists with financial resources, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design, professional development, and encouragement for creative risk-taking.

The shows run from 7:30 to 9:00 pm each night and include a post-show discussion. Tickets are available at "pay what moves you prices" online. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located at 5941 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map).

Gamelan Music and Dance of Indonesia: A Tribute Concert for Undang Sumarna, April 13 at University of Pittsburgh.

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Music will present the University of Pittsburgh Gamelan Ensemble and Gamelan Music and Dance of Indonesia: A Tribute Concert for Undang Sumarna on April 13.

The University Gamelan Ensemble plays the gamelan music of the Sundanese people. Pitt's gamelan group includes students as well as community members. Participants in the gamelan program are encouraged to use Sundanese processes of learning as much as possible; oral transmission of musical parts is preferred over written notation and working together as an ensemble is more important than developing individual talent.

The event starts at 8:00 pm in the Bellefield Auditorium at 315 S. Bellefield Ave. (map) and tickets are available online.

New Korean movie Exhuma (파묘) stays in Pittsburgh through April 3.

The new Korean movie Exhuma (파묘), which opened in Pittsburgh on March 22, will remain here through (at least) April 3.

When a renowned shaman (KIM Go-Eun) and her protégé (Lee Do-hyun) are hired by a wealthy, enigmatic family, they begin investigating the cause of a disturbing supernatural illness that affects only the first-born children of each generation. With the help of a knowledgeable mortician (YOO Hai-jin) and the country’s most revered geomancer (CHOI Min-sik), they soon trace the affliction’s origin to a long-hidden family grave located on sacred ground. Sensing an ominous aura surrounding the burial site, the team opts to exhume and relocate the ancestral remains immediately. But as something much darker emerges, they soon discover what befalls those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

2024 Vietnamese movie Mai, Vietnam's highest grossing film of all time, continues in Pittsburgh through April 3.

The 2024 Vietnamese movie Mai, which opened in Pittsburgh on March 21, will continue here through at least April 3.

Restlessly haunted by the past, Mai is greeted by a new dawn when she reluctantly befriends the neighborhood ladies’ man. But when her yesterday catches up to her today, what will become of her tomorrow? Starring Phuong Anh Dao and Tuan Tran, directed by Tran Thanh, produced by Tran Thanh Town and CJ HK Entertainment, with a North American & European release by 3388 Films.

It plays locally at the AMC Classic South Hills Village and tickets are available online.

Chinese documentary Youth (Spring) [青春] at 2024 Carnegie Mellon University International Film Festival, March 31.

The 2024 Carnegie Mellon University International Film Festival recently announced its selections and schedule, with the Chinese documentary Youth (Spring) [青春] the lone film from East Asia.

Zhili, 150 km from Shanghai. In this city dedicated to textile manufacturing, young workers come from all the rural regions crossed by the Yangtze River. They are in their early twenties, share dormitories and snack in the corridors. They work tirelessly to be able one day to raise a child, buy a house or set up their own workshop. Between them, friendships and love affairs are made and unmade according to the seasons, bankruptcies and family pressures.

It plays on March 31 at the McConomy Auditorium in the Jared L. Cohen Center on the CMU campus (map), and tickets are available online.

Signage up at Pittsburgh's first Tiger Sugar, Mango Mango locations.

Signage has recently gone up at Pittsburgh's first Tiger Sugar and Mango Mango locations, which will be sharing a storefront in Squirrel Hill. The two dessert chains have been working on the spot that was most recently a beer distributor at 5847-5849 Forbes Ave. (map) since May 2023.

aespa: World Tour in Cinemas in Pittsburgh April 24 and 27.

The concert film aespa: World Tour in Cinemas, featuring Korean pop group aespa, will play in Pittsburgh on April 24 and 27.

Global hitmaker aespa's first concert movie bursts onto the screen in cinemas worldwide! From February to September 2023 the group’s first world tour, aespa LIVE TOUR 2023 SYNK : HYPER LINE, visited 21 venues across four continents. Now, step into the final chapter of their global tour journey with aespa: WORLD TOUR in cinemas. Witness the unparalleled energy of aespa’s live performance captured from their electrifying show at London's O2 Arena, their first-ever UK show. With their futuristic stage visuals, high-energy choreography and captivating vocals, they fiercelycommanded the stage delivering fan favourites including ‘Next Level’, ‘Savage’, ‘Girls’, ‘Spicy’ and ‘Black Mamba’. The film also highlights individual performances by each member, complemented by exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, offering a glimpse behind the curtain.

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