2015 children's blockbuster movie from China, Monster Hunt (捉妖記), in Pittsburgh from January 22.

The 2015 Chinese/Hong Kong movie Monster Hunt (捉妖記) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from January 22. A Variety review offers a synopsis of this blended live-action and animated children's movie that is the highest-grossing film of all time in China:

What makes “Monster Hunt” so tyke-friendly is its easily digestible story arc, refreshingly devoid of Confucian morality, educational historical background or nationalistic grandstanding — in short, everything that makes most mainland children’s films such a yawn. Stylistically, the film blends Western demon-slaying elements, Japanese yokai folklore and even a distant echo of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” into a fanciful Chinese setting, beefing it with up robust martial-arts action with an eye toward holding the attention of adult viewers.

In a mythic kingdom, mortals and monsters who once fought each other now stay put in their separate domains. Their uneasy truce is disrupted when a coup in the monster land forces its pregnant queen to go on the run with her two loyal but inept retainers, Zhugao and his rotund wife, Fat Ying. Foreseeing that pandemonium will spill over to the humans’ realm, monster-hunt bureau chief Ge (Wallace Chung) puts up a handsome bounty for the unborn heir.

Monster Hunt was released in China on July 16, 2015, and will makes its US debut on January 22.

Tickets and showtimes are available at the AMC Loews Waterfront website. 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.

Mandarin Chinese Speed Language Partnering at Pitt on Friday.

Via the Asian Studies Center Facebook page.

A reminder about Mandarin Chinese Speed Language Partnering on Friday, January 22, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center.

2015 Hong Kong movie Ip Man 3 (葉問3) in Pittsburgh from January 21.

The 2015 movie Ip Man 3 (葉問3) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from January 21 and at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont from January 22.

"MEPPI Japan Lecture Series – U.S.-Japan Relations from a U.S. Government Perspective", downtown on January 21.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host Joseph Young and his talk "U.S.-Japan Relations from a U.S. Government Perspective" on January 21.

Chinese New Year Celebration: Year of the Monkey at Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, February 7.

The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh will hold "Chinese New Year Celebration: Year of the Monkey" on Sunday, February 7.

In ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. Come celebrate the Chinese year 4714, the year of the Monkey, with Silk Screen Asian Arts and Culture Organization. Make art, enjoy live music, and join the Steel Dragon Lion Dance Team for a parade through the Museum for the finale!

The celebration runs from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and is free with museum admission ($14 for adults, $13 for kids aged 2 through 18, and free for infants under 2). The museum is located at 10 Children's Way on the Northside (map).

More information about Squirrel Hill Lunar New Year 2016 events in February.

Via Uncover Squirrel Hill.

In December the first Squirrel Hill Lunar New Year 2016 celebration was announced, and more information about the two weeks of festivities was recently made available online.

The events begin on Saturday, February 6 with the Kick-Off Celebration at the Jewish Community Center (map). From the Uncover Squirrel Hill website:

Bring the entire family to experience this celebration of Chinese and Asian cultures! Enjoy performances by Steel Dragon Lion Dancers, Taiko Drummers, HaiHua Chinese Youth Orchestra, Korean Children’s Choir, Dong Yum Doe Korean Martial Arts, and many more. Watch and learn with demonstrations of origami, dumpling making, and calligraphy. You’ll also find plenty of crafts for the kids, including making paper lanterns. This event is free; food will be available for purchase.

The event runs from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. A Lunar New Year Dining Passport that offers 10% off participating Chinese and Asian restaurants in the area will also be available on the 6th.

Other events throughout the celebration include a Children's Celebration at the at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill on February 10, a Teen Time Celebration at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill on February 16th, and a Lunar New Year parade down Murray Ave. on February 21. More information is on the Uncover Squirrel Hill site.

Organization of Chinese Americans [OCA] Youth Lion & Yoyo Team at Carnegie Library in Oakland, January 24.

via the OCA Pittsburgh Facebook page.

The Carnegie Library in Oakland will host the OCA Youth Lion & Yoyo Team on January 24 as part of its World Kaleidoscope series.

2016 movie Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu (傷物語Ⅰ 鉄血篇) at Hollywood Theater, from February 27.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont recently announced that it will show the 2016 Japanese animated movie Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu (傷物語Ⅰ 鉄血篇) from February 27.

"The Vanished Capital and the Vanished Poet: Landscape and Poetry in the Noh Tadanori" at Pitt, January 20.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Elizabeth Oyler of the University of Illinois-Urbana at Champaign and her talk "The Vanished Capital and the Vanished Poet: Landscape and Poetry in the Noh Tadanori" on January 20. A synopsis, from the Asian Studies Center homepage:

Taira Tadanori is among the most famous heroes from the Genpei War (1180-1185), the divisive civil conflict that brought Japan’s first warrior government to power. Renowned both as a poet and a man of arms, Tadanori is commemorated in the epic war tale recounting the conflict, The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari), as well as several noh plays, including the eponymous Tadanori. This presentation addresses the way that play meditates Tadanori’s dual identity as a warrior-poet and explores the poetic and battlefield landscapes that define him, demonstrating how language and place reveal hidden, traumatic absences.

The talk begins at 2:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map), and is free and open to the public.

"Informal Education and Cultural Transmission through Uyghur Language Websites" at Pitt, January 20.

The University of Pittsburgh's Institute for International Studies in Education in the School of Education will host Dr. Rebecca Clothey of Drexel University and her lecture "Informal Education and Cultural Transmission through Uyghur Language Websites" on Wednesday, January 20.