2019 Chinese documentary Our Time Machine (时光机) online via Carnegie Science Center's Rangos Giant Cinema, from September 11.

The 2019 Chinese documentary Our Time Machine (时光机) will be available online via Carnegie Science Center's Rangos Giant Cinema from September 11. The film played in Pittsburgh last fall as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. From the film's official site:

Shaken by the news of his father’s dementia, artist Maleonn creates “Papa’s Time Machine,” a wondrous time-travel adventure performed on stage with life-size mechanical puppets. Through the play’s production, he confronts his own mortality. Maleonn finds grace and unexpected joy in this moving meditation on art, the agonies of love and loss, and the circle of life.

Pitt's Daehwa Korean Conversation Club (한국어 대화 동아리) to resume online, from September 4.

The University of Pittsburgh's Daehwa Korean Conversation Club will hold its meetings and activities online for the fall 2020 semester. THe first meeting of the term is September 4.

"The Influence of Japanese Ceramics," online with Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania, August 19.

via Guerrero Ceramics.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host local artist Jeff Guerrero and his talk "The Influence of Japanese Ceramics" on August 19.

Why have western ceramic artists continuously looked to Japan for inspiration over the past century? How has the American craft revival been influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and ethos? Join ceramic artist and educator Jeff Guerrero for a journey through the history of Japanese ceramics and its influences on Western art.

2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) with Pitt's Office of International Services, August 19.

The University of Pittsburgh's Office of International Services will present an online viewing of the 2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) on August 19 as part of Watch Party Wednesdays, open to the Pitt community. The distributor provides a summary:

From Academy Award®-nominated Hiromasa Yonebayashi – animator on Studio Ghibli masterpieces Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo, and director of When Marnie Was There and The Secret World of Arrietty – comes a dazzling new adventure about a young girl named Mary, who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night.

Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. Together the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds, and far away to Endor College – a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try to set things right.

Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 classic children’s book The Little Broomstick, Mary and The Witch’s Flower is an action-packed film full of jaw-dropping imaginative worlds, ingenious characters, and the simple, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find a place in the world.

The movie starts at 7:00 pm and is open to the Pitt community with registration.

2006 Vietnamese film Journey from the Fall (Vượt Sóng) online with Pitt's Asian Studies Center, August 12.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 2006 Vietnamese film Journey from the Fall (Vượt Sóng) online on August 12 as the next installment of its Summer Screenshots: Hot Nights/Cold War film series. A synopsis, from the film's official site:

"The Americans have broken their promise. They have left us."
(Long Nguyen, South Vietnamese resistance fighter)

Inspired by the true stories of Vietnamese refugees who fled their land after the fall of Saigon—and those who were forced to stay behind, Journey From The Fall follows one family’s struggle for freedom.

April 30, 1975 marked the end of Vietnam's two-decade-old civil war and the start of the exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees. Despite his allegiance to the toppled South Vietnamese government, Long Nguyen (as Long Nguyen) decides to remain in Vietnam. Imprisoned in a Communist re-education camp, he urges his family to make the escape by boat without him. His wife Mai (Diem Lien), son Lai (Nguyen Thai Nguyen) and mother Ba Noi (Kieu Chinh) then embark on the arduous ocean voyage in the hope of reaching the U.S. and freedom.

Back in Vietnam, Long suffers years of solitary confinement and hard labor, and finally despairs that his family has perished. But news of their successful resettlement in America inspires him to make one last desperate attempt to join them.

The online presentation starts at 5:30 pm and includes a live Q and A with Ham Tran, the film's director. Those interested should register online.

Authors Caroline Kim & Alexander Chee (online) with Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, October 7.

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will host authors Caroline Kim & Alexander Chee for a virtual discussion on October 7.

2020 Drue Heinz Literature Prize winner Caroline Kim in conversation with author and guest judge Alexander Chee

Exploring what it means to be human through the Korean diaspora, Caroline Kim’s The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories feature many voices. From a teenage girl in 1980’s America, to a boy growing up in the middle of the Korean War, to an immigrant father struggling to be closer to his adult daughter, or to a suburban housewife whose equilibrium depends upon a therapy robot, each character must face their less-than-ideal circumstances and find a way to overcome them without losing themselves. Language often acts as a barrier as characters try, fail, and momentarily succeed in connecting with each other. With humor, insight, and curiosity, Kim’s wide-ranging stories explore themes of culture, communication, travel, and family. Ultimately, what unites these characters across time and distance is their longing for human connection and a search for the place—or people—that will feel like home.

Of the collection, Wendy Hinman for Foreword Reviews writes, “Worth savoring, the stories of The Prince of Mournful Thoughts are intimate, often wistful portraits set amid the stifling and conflicting expectations of families and cultures.”

The free event starts at 6:00 pm and tickets are now available.

A Girl Missing (よこがお), Patema Inverted (サカサマのパテマ), We Are Little Zombies (ウィーアーリトルゾンビーズ) continue at Row House Cinema through August 13, part of Japanese Film Week.

The Japanese films A Girl Missing (よこがお), Patema Inverted (サカサマのパテマ), We Are Little Zombies (ウィーアーリトルゾンビーズ) will continue online at the Row House Cinema through August 13, part of the theater's Japanese Film Week. Tickets and showtime information is available online.

Pitt hiring Assistant Instructor of Chinese.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures is hiring an Assistant Instructor of Chinese:

The University of Pittsburgh seeks an Assistant Instructor of Chinese to work in The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA. Duties include teaching both recitations and lectures of language courses, with a 3/3 course workload, as well as working closely with the language coordinator to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Chinese language program. Will also collaborate with Asianists in other units (e. g., the Asian Studies Center) to promote Chinese language learning and China studies. Will also lecture in English on Chinese grammar, vocabulary, and contexts in which the language is used as well as provide students opportunities to use the language grammatically correctly and in socially appropriate ways through practice in recitation sections that are conducted exclusively in Mandarin Chinese. Will meet with students to discuss and advise on academic issues as appropriate and monitor their progress as well as supervise and train part-time instructors.

Must have a master’s degree (or foreign equivalent degree) in Chinese language pedagogy, Asian Civilizations, Linguistics, foreign language pedagogy, or a related field plus one (1) year of experience teaching Chinese at the college/university level in a North American institution.

Must also have: (i) demonstrated excellence in teaching as measured through student evaluations/teaching surveys; (ii) any experience with the use of course management technology (e.g., Blackboard); (iii) any knowledge of the Chinese as a Foreign Language field as well as the general foreign language pedagogy theory and practice in the United States; (iv) working with the language coordinator, students, other department faculty; (v) student advisement; and (vi) engaging in professional development to further her/his skills and knowledge.

Those interested should apply through Interfolio via the Pitt website.

"The Influence of Japanese Ceramics," online with Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania, August 19.

via Guerrero Ceramics.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host local artist Jeff Guerrero and his talk "The Influence of Japanese Ceramics" on August 19.

Why have western ceramic artists continuously looked to Japan for inspiration over the past century? How has the American craft revival been influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and ethos? Join ceramic artist and educator Jeff Guerrero for a journey through the history of Japanese ceramics and its influences on Western art.

Sushi Fuku rebrands as Atarashi.

Starting this month Sushi Fuku has rebranded as Atarashi. It has a simliar menu and the same ownership and will operate the same three locations: Craig St., Oakland Ave. and UPMC Presbyterian. Atarashi means new in Japanese.