Tuesday, October 29, 2019

KPDC Fall 2019 Showcase: Uprising, November 17 at Carnegie Mellon University.



Carnegie Mellon University's K-Pop Dance Club will present its Fall 2019 Showcase: Uprising on November 17.
******** FREE ADMISSION ********
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Join KPDC at our 2019 Fall Showcase on Sunday, November 17th from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm in UC Rangos! Come see what our talented dancers have been working on this semester, along with a guest performance by KASA. Doors open at 7:45 pm.
The Rangos Auditorium is located in the Cohon University Center on Forbes Ave. (map).

Pittsburgh Chinese School hiring teachers.

The Pittsburgh Chinese School, which meets on Sundays at Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, is hiring teachers.
匹兹堡中文学校诚聘有爱心和责任心,有教学经验, 并有工作许可的有关人士加入教师队伍。

岗位要求:
1、热爱中国文化,并有热情将中国的文化广泛传播。
2、喜欢孩子,有爱心、耐心,责任心,有亲和力。
3、普通话发音标准清晰,语言表达能力强。
4、有基本的英语表达沟通能力。
5、有中文教学经验,尤其是有中小学教学经验者优先。
6、有教育或中文相关学历者优先。
7、文艺课教师有相关学历或工作经验者优先。

Monday, October 28, 2019

2018 Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still (大象席地而坐) in Pittsburgh, November 17.



The 2018 Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still (大象席地而坐) will play in Pittsburgh on November 17 as part of this year's Three Rivers Film Festival. The film's official site provides a synopsis:
Under the gloomy sky of a small town in northern China, different protagonists’ lives are intertwined in this furious tale of nihilistic rage. While protecting his friend from a dangerous school bully, 16-year-old WEI Bu pushes the tormentor down a staircase. WEI escapes the scene and later learns that the bully is hospitalized and gravely injured. WEI’s neighbor, the 60-year-old WANG Jin, is estranged from his family and, with nothing to lose, decides to join him. Later the pair is joined by HUANG Ling, WEI’s classmate. She is bedeviled by a destructive affair with a married school official. Together, this unlikely and desperate trio, decide their only hope is to flee as the bully’s gangster brother, enraged parents, and vindictive school authorities all go on a cold-blooded hunt for WEI across town. As WEI threads his way through the urban wilderness, he begins to come to terms with his own lost life. In the end, he boards a long-distance bus with HUANG and WANG toward a city in Manchuria, where it is a rumored that a circus elephant is said to be sitting still, seeming oblivious to pain and tribulations of the world at large.
It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1:00 pm, though tickets are not yet available.

Jin and V (of BTS) cup-sleeve event, December 14 at Ineffable Ca Phe.



A Singular Epiphany will hold a cup-sleeve event on December 14 to commemorate the December birthdays of BTS members Seokjin (Jin) and Taehyung (V). It will be held at Ineffable Ca Phe in Lawrenceville (map) from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm and those interested in a sleeve will need to purchase a beverage.

Japanese Tea Ceremony, November 3 at Blue Monkey Tea in Squirrel Hill.



Squirrel Hill's Blue Monkey Tea will host Yuko Eguchi Wright and a Japanese Tea Ceremony on November 3.
Tea ceremony, or Chado (The Way of Tea), is a traditional Japanese art involving the ritualistic preparation of tea. Influenced by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the core teaching of chado is to attain a spiritual state of selflessness and peacefulness through making and sharing tea while maintaining harmony and balance with nature. Join us to learn about the Japanese tea ceremony through tasting tea and sweets.

Yuko Eguchi is a native of Tokyo, Japan and holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. She received her tea master title and name, Soyu, in 2009 and the associate professor of tea title in 2013, certified by the head master of the Urasenke school. Yuko currently teaches at Pitt and has performed and lectured on Japanese traditional arts at various higher institutions. Visit her website: www.yukoeguchi.com
The event starts at 6:00 pm and the required tickets are $25. Blue Monkey Tea is located at 5872 Forbes Ave. (map).

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Films from Korea, Japan, China, and Thailand at Pittsburgh Shorts Festival, November 1 through 7.



Films telling stories from Korea, Japan, China, and Thailand are among the dozens playing at the 2019 Pittsburgh Shorts Festival from November 1 through 7.

FORUM Accent and Dialect Discrimination: From Northern Japan to Western Pennsylvania, November 10 in Shadyside.


By Tokyo Times (Creative Commons)

The First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh will host "FORUM Accent and Dialect Discrimination: From Northern Japan to Western Pennsylvania" on November 10. It runs from 9:00 to 10:30 am at 605 Morewood Ave. (map) in Shadyside and is free and open to the public.

1954 film Godzilla (ゴジラ) at Phipps Conservatory, November 8.



Phipps Conservatory will show the 1954 film Godzilla (ゴジラ) on November 8 as part of its Fall Flower Show: Japanese Inspirations. From the distributor:
Godzilla (a.k.a. Gojira) is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning almost thirty sequels.
It will play from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in Japanese with English subtitles and will have an introduction from Stephen Wludarski of the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center. Those interested must register online and are required to purchase admission to Phipps. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located at 1 Schenley Drive in Oakland (map).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Samurai Films at Row House Cinema, November 1 - 7.



The Row House Cinema will run a Samurai Films series from November 1 through 7. The series is comprised of 1966's Sword of Doom (大菩薩峠), 1960's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), 2002's The Twilight Samurai (たそがれ清兵衛), 1973's Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (子連れ狼 子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる), and 1954's The Seven Samurai (七人の侍). Summaries, showtimes, and tickets are available online. Special events associated with the series include The Seven Samurai (with Bento Boxes) on November 3 and Setting the Scene: The Hidden Fortress on November 6.

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

"Confusion, Misunderstanding and Mutilated Testimony: How Hou Hsiao-hsien Uses Cinema Aesthetics to Illustrate Taiwan's Political History" at Pitt, October 31.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Christopher Lupke and his talk "Confusion, Misunderstanding and Mutilated Testimony: How Hou Hsiao-hsien Uses Cinema Aesthetics to Illustrate Taiwan's Political History" on October 31. It starts at 4:00 pm in the Alcoa Room of Barco Law School (map).

Author Grace Lin in Pittsburgh, November 3.



Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will host children's author Grace Lin on November 3.
Grace Lin is the award-winning and bestselling author and illustrator of A Big Mooncake for Little Star, a gorgeous Caldecott Honor-winning picture book for young readers. Grace is also the author of When the Sea Turned to Silver, Starry River of the Sky, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, The Year of the Dog, The Year of the Rat, Dumpling Days, and Ling & Ting, as well as picture books such as The Ugly Vegetables and Dim Sum for Everyone! Her newest book A Big Bed for Little Snow is due to be released in October 2019.
The event starts at 2:30 pm at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland (map) and will be followed by a book signing. Tickets are available online.

"Your Future In Asia: The Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program," October 29 at Pitt.

An information session for prospective JET applicants will be held on October 29 at the University of Pittsburgh.
Are you graduating soon? Wondering what your next adventure could be? Learn about the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program. It is a great opportunity for college graduates to work in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) or Coordinators for International Relations (CIR).
The presentation begins at 5:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

2006 Japanese movie Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) at CMU, November 7.



The 2006 Japanese movie Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) will play at Carnegie Mellon University on November 7 as part of the Modern Language Resource Center Film Series.
This film is adapted from the anime series about five art school students who navigate the emotional peaks and valleys of university life. Three male students all live in the same apartment building, and, when two of them fall for the same girl, their friendship is tested. Both Takemoto (Shô Sakurai) and Morita (Yusuke Iseya) long for Hagu (Yû Aoi), a new student at the school. Takemoto attempts to play it cool, while Morita tries a bit too hard to get her attention.
It starts at 7:00 pm in 225C Porter Hall (map).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

2018 Japanese animated film Mirai (未来のミライ) at Phipps Conservatory, November 1.



The 2018 Japanese animated film Mirai (未来のミライ) will play at Phipps Conservatory on November 1 as part of its Fall Flower Show: Japanese Inspirations. A synopsis, from the distributor:
From acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) and Japan’s Studio Chizu comes MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. When four-year-old Kun meets his new baby sister, his world is turned upside down. Named Mirai (meaning “future”), the baby quickly wins the hearts of Kun’s entire family. As his mother returns to work, and his father struggles to run the household, Kun becomes increasingly jealous of baby Mirai... until one day he storms off into the garden, where he encounters strange guests from the past and future – including his sister Mirai, as a teenager. Together, Kun and teenage Mirai go on a journey through time and space, uncovering their family’s incredible story. But why did Mirai come from the future?

An official selection at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and the epic capstone of director Mamoru Hosoda’s career, Mirai is a sumptuous, magical, and emotionally soaring adventure about the ties that bring families together and make us who we are.
It will play from 7:00 to 9:00 pm dubbed in English; it will also include an introduction by Kirsten Strayer of the University of Pittsburgh. Those interested must register online and are required to purchase admission to Phipps. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located at 1 Schenley Drive in Oakland (map).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋) to continue in Pittsburgh through October 31.



It was announced today the 2019 Takashi Miike film First Love (初恋), which opened in Pittsburgh on October 18, will continue here through October 31. The distributor provides a brief summary:
The film is the prolific auteur, Takashi Miike, at his most fun and anarchic, a noir-tinged yakuza film blending genres in the story of a young boxer and a call girl, who fall passionately in love while getting innocently caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme over the course of one night in Tokyo.
It will play at the Regent Square Theater at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) and tickets are now available online.

Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) in Pittsburgh from November 1.



The acclaimed 2019 Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) will play in two Pittsburgh-area theaters from November 1. Tickets went on sale on October 15 for screenings at the Squirrel Hill Manor Theater, and showtimes were recently added to the AMC Loews Waterfront.
Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.
Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Tickets for the shows from November 1 through (at least) November 6 at the AMC Loews Waterfront and through November 7 at the Manor Theater are available online.

BTS World Tour film Love Yourself: Speak Yourself [The Final] in Pittsburgh for live-streaming event, October 27.



The final installment of the BTS concert film series Love Yourself: Speak Yourself [The Final] will play in Pittsburgh on October 27. It will be simulcast live throughout the US and Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. The three-and-a-half-hour concert will play locally at the Southside Works Cinema and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets for the 8:00 pm movie are available online.

The concert movie BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul was released in Pittsburgh in January 2019, and their film Bring the Soul: The Movie played here through the summer.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

New Chinese movie The Captain (中国机长) stays in Pittsburgh through (at least) October 30.



The 2019 Chinese film The Captain (中国机长), which opened Pittsburgh on October 18, will continue here through at least October 30. The distributor writes of the film, based on the 2018 Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 incident:
Director Andrew Lau's cinematic portrayal of the most miraculous emergency landing in the contemporary history of Chinese aviation.
It has been the top film in China its first three weekends and is currently the fifth-highest grossing film of the year there, despite not being released until September 30. It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available on the theater's site. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2019 Chinese documentary Our Time Machine (时光机) in Pittsburgh, November 11 and 16.



The Chinese documentary Our Time Machine (时光机) will play in Pittsburgh on November 11 and 16 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival.
When artist Maleonn realizes that his father suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, he creates “Papa’s Time Machine”–a magical, autobiographical stage performance featuring life-size mechanical puppets. Through the production of this play, the two men confront their mortality before time runs out and memories are lost forever.
It plays at the Harris Theater at 6:00 pm on November 11 and at 4:00 pm on November 16, though tickets are not yet available.

Justin Chon film Ms. Purple in Pittsburgh, November 9 and 14.



The 2019 American film Ms. Purple will play in Pittsburgh on November 9 and 14 as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. The Sundance Institute provides a summary:
In the dark karaoke rooms of Los Angeles’s Koreatown stripmalls, Kasie works as a doumi girl, a young hostess paid to cater to rich businessmen’s capricious whims. As she struggles to hide her sorrow through soju- and MDMA-fueled nights, her mind is focused on one thing: earning enough tips to continue providing for her bedridden father. When her father’s caretaker unexpectedly quits, Kasie seeks help from her estranged brother, and the siblings are forced to reconnect and reconcile the suppressed trauma that lead to their separation.

Writer/director Justin Chon returns to the Sundance Film Festival (after winning a 2017 NEXT Audience Award for Gook) with another emotionally powerful love letter to Los Angeles. With a lavish sense of atmosphere and authenticity, Ms. Purple charts the lives of internally writhing individuals trapped by the expectations of their own family. Tiffany Chu perfectly embodies Kasie’s distress and anxiety as she grapples with the self-imposed burden of honoring her immigrant father until the day he dies.
It will play at the Regent Square Theater from 4:00 pm on November 9th and at 7:00 pm on November 14, though tickets are not yet available.

"Why BTS? Why K-pop? Global Success and UK Reception," October 24 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center presents Dr. Haekyung Um and her talk "Why BTS? Why K-pop? Global Success and UK Reception" on October 24.
The international breakthrough of BTS is marked by their success in the USA and their albums, Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer, in May and September respectively. Their EP Mal of the Soul: Persona, released in April 2019, also topped both the UK Official Chart and teh US Billboard 200 Chart. The global, US, and UK reception of BTS in the past few years, has shed a light on how K-op has been evolving and how Asian pop music genres have been received by both the mainstream music industry and consumers in the west. This process has been taking place in the context of a fast-changing ecology of the creative industries, shaped by digital technology and social media, which in turn mobilize and above all, empower the fandom and audiences engaged in this music form.
The talk starts at 5:00 pm in 232 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.