2021 Hong Kong documentary Revolution of Our Times (時代革命) at Row House Cinema, April 4.

The 2021 Hong Kong documentary Revolution of Our Times (時代革命) will play at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville on April 4.

Over the past fifty years, Hongkongers have fought for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, the “Extradition Bill” to China opened a Pandora’s box, turning Hong Kong into a battlefield against the Chinese authoritarian rule. The award-winning director of “Ten Years: Self Immolator,” Kiwi Chow, made this documentary to tell the story of the movement, both with a macro view of its historical context and up close and personal on the front lines.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

"Asia Pop: From Video Games to the Mobile Internet: The Gaming Platform Economy in Japan," March 23 (online) at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Marc Steinberg and his talk "From Video Games to the Mobile Internet: The Gaming Platform Economy in Japan" as part of the center's Asia Pop series on March 23.

This lecture by Dr. Marc Steinberg, Associate Professor of Film Studies at Concordia University, will situate Japanese mobile gaming within the longer history of mobile platforms in Japan in an effort to better understand the close relationship between mobile gaming and what we now know as the platform economy.

It starts at 5:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Azby Brown and "Mottainai: Sustainability in Contemporary Japan," March 17 with Pitt's Asian Studies Center.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Azby Brown and his talk "Mottainai: Sustainability in Contemporary Japan" on March 17.

The “mottainai” environmental resource and design principles of Edo-period Japan were so effective that they canserve as prototype and inspiration for truly sustainable living, teaching us the many benefits of living in a highly-developed circular economy. This talk shows how Edo-period Japanese lived and how they made optimum use oftheir limited resources.

Azby Brown is a native of New Orleans, and has lived in Japan since 1985. A widely published author and authority on Japanesearchitecture, design, and environment, his groundbreaking writings on traditional Japanese carpentry, compact housing, and traditional sustainable practices of Japan are recognized as having brought these fields to the awareness of Western designers and the general public. In addition to The Genius of Japanese Carpentry, he has written Small Spaces (1993), The Japanese Dream House (2001), The Very Small Home (2005), and Just Enough: Lessons in living green from traditional Japan (2010). He retired in 2017 from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology,where he founded the Future Design Institute, and is currently on the sculpture faculty of Musashino Art University in Tokyo.

This program is brought to you by the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and made possible with the generous support of the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership

It starts at 7:00 pm EST and is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

"Table for Two: Japanese Soy-based Foods" hybrid event at Pitt, March 15.

via Futuredish.com

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host "Table for Two: Japanese Soy-based Foods" with Samantha Sodetz. It starts at 6:00 pm on Zoom and in Posvar Hall's Global Hub, and registration is required.

"We Learn: Korean Learning Circle" continues online and in-person at Carnegie Library Oakland, Saturdays through (at least) March and April.

via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland will host "We Learn: Korean Learning Circle" on Saturdays in March and April: March 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, and 23.

We will cover the basic level to the intermediate/advanced levels. Based on the level of students, we can adjust course materials. Not only the Korean language, our tutors are always happy to share Korean cultures as well.

It runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. It's free and open to the public, but registration is required. The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

"We Learn: Korean Learning Circle," online and in-person at Carnegie Library Oakland, March 5.

via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland will host "We Learn: Korean Learning Circle" on Saturdays from March 5.

We will cover the basic level to the intermediate/advanced levels. Based on the level of students, we can adjust course materials. Not only the Korean language, our tutors are always happy to share Korean cultures as well.

It runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. It's free and open to the public, but registration is required. The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

K-Rave In Pittsburgh, March 11 at Level Up Studios.

The group 412 K Town (KPOPittsburgh) will present "K-Rave in Pittsburgh" on March 11.

K-Rave In Pittsburgh. Yes , we are having our own k-rave in Pittsburgh PA. For those who aren't familiar with k-rave, it is a kpop dance party event ( its not an actual rave ^^ ) Come join us and others to dance the night away by dancing to your favorite kpop songs from 2nd Gen to 4th Gen (also includes mash ups , remixes and concert mixes). Music will be provided by Dj.kidplay ( who is also known as imyoonotyou on tiktok ** that kpop dj from tiktok**). Door will open at 7pm and its $20 to enter this event. feel free to come by yourself or with a group because in the end of event , you will be making ton of kpop stan & kpop fan friends.

It runs from 7:00 to 11:00 pm. Level Up Studios is located at 4836 Penn Ave. in Garfield (map).

"MONKEY: New Writing from Japan Volume 2: Travel w/ Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton, Adam Ehrlich Sachs, Motoyuki Shibata, and Meg Taylor" Virtual Launch at White Whale Bookstore, March 4.

White Whale Bookstore will host a virtual launch for "MONKEY: New Writing from Japan Volume 2: Travel w/ Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton, Adam Ehrlich Sachs, Motoyuki Shibata, and Meg Taylor" on March 4.

So excited to be partnering up with MONKEY, which is based here in Pittsburgh, to launch their second volume of new and translated Japanese literature, Travel! We'll be joined by contributors Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton, and editor/founder Motoyuki Shibata in an exclusive pre-recorded interview, followed by a conversation with contributor Adam Ehrlich Sachs and managing editor Meg Taylor.

Vol. 2 of MONKEY is 184 pages of full color, featuring the best of contemporary Japanese literature, from Kikuko Tsumura and Aoko Matsuda to Mieko Kawakami and Haruki Murakami, new translations of work by twentieth-century writers such as Yasunari Kawabata, a new graphic story by Satoshi Kitamura inspired by Gogol's "The Overcoat," and new work by American and Canadian writers Brian Evenson, Laird Hunt, Eric McCormack, and Barry Yourgrau—all friends of MONKEY. Published during the second year of the pandemic, this issue celebrates travel—something we did mostly in our imaginations in 2021!

It starts online at 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Concert film BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing in Pittsburgh, March 12.

The BTS concert film BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing will play in Pittsburgh on March 12.

‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE -SEOUL’, a performance for BTS and ARMY to dance together live. Join us as BTS and ARMY become one once again with music and dance in this unmissable live concert experience broadcast from Seoul to cinemas around the world! ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE’ is the latest world tour series headlined by 21st century pop icons BTS, featuring powerful performances and the greatest hit songs from throughout their incredible career. The earlier Los Angeles shows were seen by approximately 813,000 people across the four sold-out shows, making them one of the most successful shows in 2021. Don’t miss ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE -SEOUL: LIVE VIEWING’ to see RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook on the big screen in your local cinema on Saturday, March 12 only. We don’t need permission to dance~♬

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson, and tickets for the 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm shows are available online.

Taiwanese films Dragon Inn (龍門客棧), Goodbye, Dragon Inn (不散) in Pittsburgh, from March 18; double feature discounts (and Taiwanese snacks) available.

The Harris Theater will show the 2003 Taiwanese film Goodbye Dragon Inn (不散) from March 18 through 24, as well as the 1967 Taiwanese film Dragon Inn (龍門客棧) which features in its plot on March 19, 20, and 23. A summary of the former:

Like the Royal Theater in The Last Picture Show and the title movie house in Cinema Paradiso, the Fu-Ho Grand, a movie palace in Taipei, is closing its doors. Its valedictory screening: King Hu’s 1967 wuxia epic Dragon Inn, playing to a motley smattering of spectators, including two stars of Hu’s original opus, Miao Tien and Shih Chun, watching their younger selves with tears in their eyes. Developing the slyest, most delicate of character arcs involving a lovelorn usherette, a Japanese tourist cruising for companionship, and an oblivious projectionist played by Lee Kang-sheng, Tsai crafts a film both powerfully melancholy and deadpan funny. The sense that moviegoing as a communal experience is slipping away takes on a profound and painful resonance in Goodbye, Dragon Inn, a film too multifaceted to reduce to a simple valentine to the age of pre-streaming cinema.

And a synopsis of the latter:

A watershed in the history of Taiwanese popular cinema, the film-within-a-film in Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn, and the first movie that Hu, who is to the wuxia what John Ford is to the Western, made after fleeing his Shaw Bros. serfdom in Hong Kong to freedom in Taiwan. The emancipatory joy is palpable. The movie’s plot concerns the three marked-for-death children of a framed-up imperial minister as they’re pursued by a unit of ruthless assassins, the Black Arrow Troop, to the Dragon Gate Inn, a remote redoubt where both sides dig in and feel one another out in preparation for an inevitable showdown—but this conveys nothing of the elation of the filmmaking. Unlike many contemporary wuxia directors, including the good ones, Hu painstakingly pre-prepared and composed his films. Here, adapting the music of the traditional Beijing Opera to the rhythms of the fight film, he creates something that feels both ancient and new. This thrilling landmark of film history returns to the screen in a new, beautifully restored 4K digital transfer, created from the original negative.

There is a special promotion on for those who buy tickets to both movies as part of a double feature:

Special double-feature pricing is available when purchasing both the Dragon Inn and Goodbye, Dragon Inn on March 19, 20, and 23 – save $3 per ticket. All double-feature guests also receive complimentary light Taiwanese snacks between the films!

Tickets are available online. The Harris Theater is located in downtown's Cultural District (map).

"Threshold: A Reading & Conversation with Joseph O. Legaspi" at Pitt (online), March 31.

The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Creativity will present "Threshold: A Reading & Conversation with Joseph O. Legaspi" on March 31.

Join us for a reading and talk with poet Joseph O. Legaspi, Global Filipino Literary Award winner.

Joseph O. Legaspi was born in the Philippines, where he lived before immigrating to Los Angeles with his family at age twelve. He received a BA from Loyola Marymount University and an MFA from New York University's Creative Writing Program. He is the author of the poetry collections Threshold and Imago, both from CavanKerry Press; and three chapbooks: Postcards (Ghost Bird Press), Aviary, Bestiary (Organic Weapon Arts), and Subways (Thrush Press).

Recent works have appeared in POETRY, Orion, New England Review, World Literature Today, and Best of the Net.

He cofounded Kundiman, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing generations of writers and readers of Asian American literature. He lives with his husband in Queens, New York.

The online event runs from 8:00 to 9:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Tickets remain for Pittsburgh Opera presentation of world premiere of In A Grove, based on short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, March 1 and 3.

Tickets still remain for the last two days of the Pittsburgh Opera's presentation of In A Grove, based on short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, on March 1 and 3.

Music by Christopher Cerrone, libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann, based on the short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A silent, expectant grove. A violent encounter between a man, a woman, and a notorious brigand.

Seven testimonies, each proposing a different perspective on the crime. Akutagawa’s classic short story “In a Grove,” which inspired the plot of Kurosawa’s renowned film Rashomon, offers a searing investigation into the impossibility and elusiveness of truth.

Epic and intimate, timeless and devastatingly timely, the story’s structure lends itself powerfully to music’s ability to conjure—via repetition and variation—how human perception, memory, and desire are fallible, imprecise, and subject to interference.

Join us for this unique world-premiere experience in a place where the ground shifts beneath your feet—a space of ambiguity and clarity, of beauty and menace, and of fragility and strength.

Readers should use the POASIA promo code to receive 20% off their tickets for the March 1 and 3 shows. The theater is located at 2425 Liberty Ave. in the Strip District (map).

Japanese Breakfast in Pittsburgh, May 5.

The band Japanese Breakfast will play at the Roxian Theatre on May 5. Flood Magazine describes its latest album, in part:

But if its arc echoes that of other great albums, Jubilee is still frequently surprising and adventurous. “Savage Good Boy” is an approachable pop confection with a sticky, snarky conceptual hook at its core; it’s written from the point of view of an absurdly rich man trying to convince a woman to flee earth with him in the face of apocalypse (and who knows, maybe seize responsibility for repopulation! We’ll sort that out later…). “Be Sweet,” co-written with Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing, was meant for another artist but Zauner opted to keep it; here, it casually becomes one of the most undeniable ’80s-influenced pop songs you’ve ever heard.

Tickets for the 7:00 pm show are available online. Printed proof of vaccination is required to enter. The Roxian Theatre is located at 425 Chartiers Ave. in McKees Rocks (map).

Five more Ghibli films announced for Pittsburgh theaters in 2022.

Earlier this week, GKIDS announced the first two installments of its 2022 Ghibli Film Fest lineup. Overnight, the year's other selections were made public.

• Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫)) - April 3 and 6 (English dubbed), April 4 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) - May 15 and 18 (English dubbed), May 16 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• The Cat Returns (猫の恩返し) - June 26 (English dubbed), June 27 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) - July 31 and August 3 (English dubbed), August 1 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• Only Yesterday (おもひでぽろぽろ) - August 28 (English dubbed), August 29 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) - September 25 and 28 (English dubbed), September 26 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) - October 30 and November 2 (English dubbed), November 1 (Japanese with English subtitles)

Tickets are currently available for the shows at local Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson, though more locations are likely to be announced closer to each show.

2021 animated Japanese film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (劇場版 呪術廻戦 0) in Pittsburgh, from March 17.

The 2021 animated Japanese film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (劇場版 呪術廻戦 0) will play in Pittsburgh from March 17. From the distributor:

When they were children, Rika Orimoto was killed in a traffic accident right before the eyes of her close friend, Yuta Okkotsu. "It's a promise. When we both grow up, we'll get married." Rika became an apparition, and Yuta longed for his own death after suffering under her curse, but the greatest Jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, welcomed him into Jujutsu High. There Yuta meets his classmates, Maki Zen'in, Toge Inumaki, and Panda, and finally finds his own determination. "I want the confidence to say it's okay that I'm alive! While I'm at Jujutsu High, I'll break Rika-chan's curse." Meanwhile, the vile curse user, Suguru Geto, who was expelled from the school for massacring ordinary people, appears before Yuta and the others. "This coming December 24th, we shall carry out the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons." While Geto advocates for creating a paradise for only jujutsu sorcerers, he unleashes a thousand curses upon Shinjuku and Kyoto to exterminate all non-sorcerers. Will Yuta be able to stop Geto in the end? And what will happen when breaking Rika's curse...?

It is currently scheduled to play at Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and Monaca, with screenings in Japanese or dubbed in English, though tickets are not yet available.

Day & Night: a Hobi and Yoongi Birthday Cupsleeve Event, March 26 at Ineffable Ca Phe.

Organizers of local BTS fan events are holding another one on March 26 in honor of J-Hope and Suga's birthdays. It will run from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm at Ineffable Cà Phê in Lawrenceville (map).

"Future Tense: Microcinema Screening" with several Chinese, Taiwanese filmmakers, March 24 at The Andy Warhol Museum.

The Andy Warhol Museum will host "Future Tense: Microcinema Screening," featuring several Chinese and Taiwanese filmmakers and currated by Barbara London and Ellen Larson, on March 24.

We are living in a time of crisis. Anxieties about the future and questions concerning the sustainability of the planet and its inhabitants have never felt more urgent. Future Tense asks how artists approach these and other global uncertainties in relationship to identity, home, and environment. Selected videos highlight both the fragility and resilience of human ingenuity in relationship to nature, space, and place. Collectively, the artists included in this program direct themselves towards the future. They look to the past to reclaim lost histories while simultaneously imagining new possible futures. Participating artists: Imani Dennison, Fang Tianyu, Thomas Allen Harris, Pedro Neves Marques, Joan Michel, Su Yu-Hsin, Wang Mowen, and Zheng Yuan.

The event runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and tickets will be available online soon.

Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ), Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) announced (so far) for Ghibli Fest dates in Pittsburgh.

Each year, distributor GKIDS brings several Studio Ghibli films to theaters across the country as part of a Studio Ghibli Fest, and today two selections were announced for April and May: Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) and Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) , respectively.  Tickets are now available for showings at the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, and Monroeville, though more films and theatres will be announced later:

• Princess Mononoke - April 3 and 6 (English dubbed), April 4 (Japanese with English subtitles)
• Ponyo - May 15 and 18 (English dubbed), May 16 (Japanese with English subtitles)

2022 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival lineup announced.

Individual tickets are now on sale for the 2022 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, which runs from March 18 through 31 at the Row House Cinema. This year's lineup includes:

• The Island of Cats (ねことじいちゃん) 
• Samurai Rebellion (上意討ち 拝領妻始末) 
• Stray Dog (野良犬)

• It's a Summer Film (サマーフィルムにのって)

• Matango (マタンゴ)

• Dragnet Girl (非常線の女)
• Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (漁港の肉子ちゃん)
• Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者)
• Poupelle of Chimney Town (映画 えんとつ町のプペル)
• Pale Flower (乾いた花)
• Sonatine (ソナチネ)
• Hold Me Back (私をくいとめて)
• Cure (キュア)
• On-Gaku: Our Sound (音楽)

Plus, there's a collection of "Japan's Craziest TV Gameshows." Individual tickets are now available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Concert film BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing in Pittsburgh, March 12.

The BTS concert film BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing will play in Pittsburgh on March 12.

‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE -SEOUL’, a performance for BTS and ARMY to dance together live. Join us as BTS and ARMY become one once again with music and dance in this unmissable live concert experience broadcast from Seoul to cinemas around the world! ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE’ is the latest world tour series headlined by 21st century pop icons BTS, featuring powerful performances and the greatest hit songs from throughout their incredible career. The earlier Los Angeles shows were seen by approximately 813,000 people across the four sold-out shows, making them one of the most successful shows in 2021. Don’t miss ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE -SEOUL: LIVE VIEWING’ to see RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook on the big screen in your local cinema on Saturday, March 12 only. We don’t need permission to dance~♬

Tickets are not yet on sale, but the movie will play at 4:30 and 8:30 pm at the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson. Additional theaters are likely to be announced later.