Taiwanese chain Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea (一芳台灣水果茶) coming soon to Pittsburgh.

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea (一芳台灣水果茶) is planning a Squirrel Hill location. The US-based Taiwanese fruit tea chain recently put up signage at 5825 Forbes Ave (map), in what has been empty for a couple years but what was most recently Classic Lines bookstore. Paperwork and planning for the new tea spot---which will join Mango Mango, Tiger Sugar, Tsaaoca, and Meetcha on the same block---started back in April. Yi Fang currently has locations throughout California, the East Coast, and elsewhere in North America.

2024 film Extremely Unique Dynamic, from Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung, in Pittsburgh October 12, part of Reel Q Pittsburgh International LGBT Film Festival.

The 2024 film Extremely Unique Dynamic, from Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung, will play in Pittsburgh on October 12 as part of Reel Q Pittsburgh International LGBT Film Festival.

Ryan and Daniel, two childhood best friends and aspiring actors, spend one final weekend together before RYAN has to move to Canada with his fiancé. Wanting to create one lasting memory, they decide to make a movie... about two guys making a movie.. about two guys making a movie. Along the way, they unpack their decades-long friendship and prepare for the next chapters of their respective lives.

It plays at 9:00 pm at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map), and tickets are available online.

"The Promise of Intimacy: Digital Lives of Queer Filipinx/a/os in Manila and Los Angeles" at Pitt, November 7.

The University of Pittsburgh's Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies program will present Dr. Paul Michael Leonardo Atienza and his talk "The Promise of Intimacy: Digital Lives of Queer Filipinx/a/os in Manila and Los Angeles" on November 7.

Mobile digital technologies are transforming how people communicate with one another. They offer a promise for quick and easy platonic, romantic, and/or sexual connections. With the intensification of people’s reliance on and everyday engagement with mobile digital media platforms, the study of mediated intimacies is relevant and needed more than ever before. Spanning several years of ethnographic research, both in Manila and Los Angeles, queer Filipinx/a/o men in my study complained that it was difficult to find meaningful connections through socio-sexual apps. In their pursuits of intimacies, queer Filipinx/a/o men in my study experienced frequent forms of failure, generating various affective responses that shape their actions and beliefs. In the accounts of these experiences, failure is not a totalizing experience. Nor do these experiences necessarily lead to definite endpoints. Such possibilities still create many forms of exclusions to intimacy, yet the queer Filipinx/a/o men who shared parts of their lives continue to aspire, to hope for an experience of intimacy. Some openings and possibilities inspire responses and alternative paths toward the realization of brief moments of connection, and small moments of pleasure. My study seeks to understand queer Filipinx/a/o men’s digital lives and how their experiences inform complex negotiations on and offline in the search for connection, especially when feelings are amplified and complicated by social categories of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.

It runs from 1:00 to 2:00 pm in room 2322 Cathedral of Learning.

2024 movie My Hero Academia (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ユア ネクスト) in Pittsburgh, from October 10.

The 2024 Japanese animated movie My Hero Academia (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ユア ネクスト) will play in Pittsburgh from October 10.

Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless and Robinson, and tickets are available online. Please note, some shows are dubbed in English while others are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Concert film JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL - THE PARTY EDITION in Pittsburgh, October 11 - 13.

The concert film JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL - THE PARTY EDITION will play in Pittsburgh from October 11 through 13.

“Party, party, yeah!” The hit movie JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL returns to cinemas with a bonus singalong party! Experience the movie, featuring electrifying concert performances, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage, along with 20 minutes of singalong videos for the ultimate party event in cinemas. Join together with ARMY to celebrate Jung Kook’s hit songs in global cinemas, including "Seven (feat. Latto)," "3D (feat. Jack Harlow)" and "Standing Next to You" among others. This is the final chance to see JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL on the big screen, capturing his remarkable rise to fame and heartfelt moments with ARMY around the world.

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

《Invisible Nation》 Movie Screening & Panel Discussion【看不見的國家】電影放映會及座談會, October 26 at Carnegie Mellon.

The Pittsburgh Taiwanese Association will present 《Invisible Nation》 Movie Screening & Panel Discussion【看不見的國家】電影放映會及座談會 on October 26.

With unprecedented access to Taiwan’s sitting head of state, director Vanessa Hope investigates the election and tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan. Thorough, incisive and bristling with tension, Invisible Nation is a living account of Tsai’s tightrope walk as she balances the hopes and dreams of her nation between the colossal geopolitical forces of the U.S. and China. Hope’s restrained observational style captures Tsai at work in her country’s vibrant democracy at home, while seeking full international recognition of Taiwan’s right to exist. （Promotion materials provided by Theorem Media）

《Invisible Nation》看不見的國家是一部由Vanessa Hope 執導的紀錄片。該片以台灣為背景，深入探討這個常被忽略的島國及其政治和社會景觀。紀錄片全面展示了台灣在國際承認方面的奮鬥以及其與中國之間的複雜關係。這部電影探討了以下主題：台灣的身分認同，政治鬥爭，個人故事以及國際關係。該片提供了一個深入而洞察的視角，展現了台灣在尋求國際承認方面的奮鬥以及政治局勢的複雜性。

More information on the panelists is available at the event site. The event runs from 1:30 to 4:00 pm in the McConomy Auditorium in the Jared L. Cohon University Center on the Carnegie Mellon University campus (map), and tickets are available online; there are special rates for students and children.

Cowboy Bebop LIVE, presented by Bebop Bounty Big Band, October 17 at Roxian Theatre.

The Roxian Theatre will host Cowboy Bebop LIVE on October 17.

Prepare to blast off into the cosmos with Cowboy Bebop LIVE, an electrifying tour produced by Live Nation and performed by the sensational Bebop Bounty Big Band. This one-of-a-kind multimedia experience celebrates the iconic anime series Cowboy Bebop by bringing its legendary soundtrack to life in a way that fans have never seen before.

Cowboy Bebop LIVE is more than just a concert, it’s an immersive experience that combines high-octane jazz with the gripping narrative of Cowboy Bebop projected on the big screen. Audiences will be transported through the solar system alongside Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein as they track down intergalactic fugitives, and make a living in the vastness of space. The band’s 14-piece ensemble brings to life the critically acclaimed soundtrack that has captured the hearts of anime fans and jazz lovers alike.

The Bebop Bounty Big Band, comprised of world-class musicians, is here to take audiences on a journey through the stars. Handpicked by Cowboy Bebop LIVE curator and band leader, Corey Paul, each musician plays a pivotal role in recreating the magic of Cowboy Bebop’s unforgettable soundscape. Paul commented, “I’m truly honored to have put this live show together and perform the genius score of Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts, along with the genius storytelling of Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop.”

Tickets for the all-ages show, starting at 7:00 pm, are now available online. The Roxian Theatre is located at 425 Chartiers Ave. in McKees Rocks (map).

Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Information Session, October 8 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will hold its annual Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Information Session on October 8.

Are you interested in living and working abroad?
Have you been studying Japanese and looking to apply your skills after graduation?
Do you want to make an impact on the lives of young people?
Would you like to find out where the ultimate ramen shop is found?
If any of these questions apply to you, then please join the Asian Studies Center and JET Alumni group in Pittsburgh for an information session to learn more about the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. This hybrid Information Session will be in room 4130 Posvar Hall, on the 4th floor of W. Wesley Posvar Hall on October 8, 2024 starting at 5:30pm. Learn about the requirements of the JET Program and learn from your future-JET Program sempai with our JET Alumni Panel.

The hybrid event starts at 5:30 pm and registration is required; the in-person component is held in 4130 Posvar Hall.

"Chifa: How Chinese Food Became Peru's National Treasure," October 4 at Pitt.

The Center for Ethnic Studies Research and the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh will present Dr. Lok Siu and her talk "Chifa: How Chinese Food Became Peru's National Treasure" on October 4.

Chifas, or Peruvian Chinese food and restaurants, are ubiquitous throughout South America, a region with the largest population of ethnic Chinese in the American hemisphere. They first emerged in the second half of the 1800s to service Chinese workers who settled in Lima. As chifas gained widespread popularity, they proliferated throughout neighborhoods and cities. Over time, the food served in chifas morphed and shifted according to local tastes, spices, and food preferences. Cultural proximity and intimacy among Chinese, Black, indigenous, and mestizo Peruvians helped generate new dishes. Today, chifas are considered an important part of Peru’s national cuisine. This talk examines the development and transformation of Chifas in order to illustrate one distinctive culinary formation—chifas in Peru—within the broader global circuit of Chinese foodways.

Lok Siu is Professor of Ethnic Studies and Associate Vice Chancellor of Research at UC Berkeley. A cultural anthropologist with expertise in diaspora, transnational migration, belonging and citizenship, food, ethnography, and hemispheric Asian American studies, she is an award-winning author of several books, including, most recently, Chinese Diaspora: Its Development in Global Perspective (2021), and the forthcoming Worlding Latin Asian: Cultural Intimacies in Food, Art, and Politics (Duke U. Press).

The talk runs from 2:30 to 4:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map).

Smile Thai & Sushi now open in Oakland.

Smile Thai & Sushi has recently opened in Oakland. It is located at 253 Atwood St. (map), taking over the spot from Spice Island Tea House which long occupied the space. Signage went up a few weeks ago, and the storefront now has its hours posted (and based on what they have posted online, the long hours of operation is not a typo).