1957 film Sumpah Pontianak online with Pitt's Asian Studies Center, February 17.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 1957 film Sumpah Pontianak on February 17 as part of its upcoming Pontianak Film Series.

Third in the series of schlocky films from the 50s. The first Pontianak film appeared in 1957 Singaporean Malay horror film directed by Indian film director B.N. Rao starring Maria Menado and M. Amin. Based on the Malay folktales of a blood-sucking ghost born from a woman who dies in childbirth. The smash hit premiered on 27 April 1957 and screened for almost three months at the local Cathay cinemas. Its success spawned two other sequels, Dendam Pontianak (Revenge of the Pontianak, 1957) and Sumpah Pontianak (Curse of the Pontianak, 1958). It is also said to have launched the Pontianak genre in Singapore and Malaysia, with rival Shaw producing its own Pontianak trilogy and several movies of the same genre were also made in Malaysia.

The movie has been pushed back two weeks from its originally-scheduled screening. It starts on Vimeo at 7:00 pm, and registration is required.

Screening of 2019 Nailed It documentary and Q&A with filmmaker, February 16 at Pitt; follow-up discussion with Pitt's ASA and BAS, February 19.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and Asian Student Alliance will present a screening of the 2019 Nailed It documentary and Q&A with filmmaker Adele Pham on February 16. From the documentary's official site:

In virtually every city, state and strip mall across the U.S., women get their nails done in salons likely owned by Vietnamese entrepreneurs. How did this community come to be such a presence in the field? NAILED IT takes viewers from Los Angeles to the Bronx to meet the diverse people and relationships behind this booming and enigmatic trade, as well as through the complex history behind this part of the beauty industry.

The event starts at 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required. It will be followed on the 19th by a panel discussion between the ASA and Pitt's Black Action Society at 8:00 pm.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review profiles Mai Khoi, Vietnamese pop singer and activist now at home in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is the latest local outlet to profile Mai Khoi, the "Lady Gaga of Vietnam," who now has made a home in Pittsburgh.

Her name is Mai Khoi (pronounced “my coy”) and she is a successful Vietnamese pop star turned activist who was forced to leave her home country after being harassed and silenced by the Vietnamese government.

The 38-year-old Khoi has found refuge in Pittsburgh, arriving last November and becoming the second scholar in residence at the University of Pittsburgh through the Scholars at Risk program. The program partners with an initiative of the Institute of International Education called the Artist Protection Fund.

The fund supports threatened artists by placing them in safe countries for a full year, where they can continue their work and plan for their futures. Khoi is also supported by the Pittsburgh-based International Free Expression Project and the City of Asylum on the North Side, where she and her husband have found their Pittsburgh home.

See also a January 19 WESA FM profile.

First look (by a magazine) at Jian's Kitchen.

Hal B. Klein reviews Jian's Kitchen for Pittsburgh Magazine this month in a profile of new restaurants.

There’s a lot to celebrate with this opening, and foremost is the depth of its menu. You Shan Pei, the former head chef of Northeastern Kitchen, remains on staff, and he’s joined by Michael Chew, a Taiwanese chef with 40 years of experience; Chew first cooked in Pittsburgh 30 years ago when he was the chef of Chef Chow in Fox Chapel.

Rather than focus solely on the lesser-known (though utterly delicious) cuisine of Heilongjiang province, as was the case at Northeastern Kitchen, the two chefs are collaborating on a pan-Chinese menu. Those dishes go beyond the typical Chinese restaurant menu to celebrate the nation’s culinary intricacies, and they’re also exploring the depths of regional cuisine.

Jian's Kitchen (品江南) opened in December in Squirrel Hill, in the spot formerly occupied by Northeastern Kitchen.

"Building the post-1949 State in China and Taiwan," February 16 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Julia Strauss and her lecture "Building the post-1949 State in China and Taiwan" on February 16.

By the late 1950s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC) stood as exemplars of success for both “revolutionary” and “conservative” variants of the modern state. However, in 1949 these two regimes had an overlooked yet substantial amount in common in structure and state building agendas. Juxtaposition of the PRC in Sunan (Southern Jiangsu) with the ROC in Taiwan, illustrates that each relied on a fluctuating mix of bureaucratic and campaign modalities to implement similar policies each deemed essential to state building – the dispatch of enemies of the state, and the implementation of land reform. However, the ways in which campaigns against subversives and for land reform were publicly performed pointed to key differences in each regime’s core values, how it represented itself, and how it attempted to generate legitimacy.

It starts at 3:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

2020 Goro Miyazaki film Earwig and the Witch (アーヤと魔女) continues in Pittsburgh through February 18.

The 2020 Goro Miyazaki film Earwig and the Witch (アーヤと魔女), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 3, will stay in some local theaters through the 18th. A synopsis, from the distributor:

Growing up in an orphanage in the British countryside, Earwig has no idea that her mother had magical powers. Her life changes dramatically when a strange couple takes her in, and she is forced to live with a selfish witch. As the headstrong young girl sets out to uncover the secrets of her new guardians, she discovers a world of spells and potions, and a mysterious song that may be the key to finding the family she has always wanted.

It will continue at the Waterworks and Cranberry Cinemas. Tickets are available online; please note that some screenings are in Japanese with English subtitles while others are dubbed in English.

2004 Malaysian horror film Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam, March 3 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 2004 Malaysian horror film Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam on March 3, the second installment in its Malaysian Horror Series.

Join us for a virtual series of films based on the Malay folktales of a blood-sucking ghost born from a woman who dies in childbirth. The smash hit premiered in April 1957 and screened for nearly three months at the local Cathay cinemas. Its success spawned two other sequels in 2004 and 2019. It is also said to have launched the Pontianak genre in Singapore and Malaysia, with rival Shaw producing its own Pontianak trilogy.

The movie begins at 7:00 pm, and registration is required for the online streaming link.

Lunar Kickoff! with Pitt's VSA and CASA, February 13.

The Vietnamese Student Association and Chinese American Student Association at the University of Pittsburgh will present "Lunar Kickoff!" on February 13.

Pitt VSA and CASA invite YOU to keep up that holiday spirit ❄️ and come celebrate a WEEK 🤯 of Lunar New Year festivities!

A weeklong of what?! Pull through to our short kickoff event to get familiar with the 🐭Zodiac Animal Race🐃 and get a chance to win BIG prizes😩!

Sign up for workshops at our main event on 2/20 using this form https://forms.gle/s4Y6fd3AeY2zNJHTA zoom link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96694117103

Diane Severin Nguyen: Tyrant Star, online at Carnegie Museum of Art through February 14.

An exhibition by Diane Severin Nguyen, Tyrant Star online via the Carnegie Museum of Art will run through February 14.

This iteration of Carnegie Museum of Art’s online exhibition series features Tyrant Star, a 16-minute video work by artist Diane Severin Nguyen (American, b. 1990). It marks the first time that the work, a new acquisition, will be exhibited at CMOA.

Filmed entirely in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tyrant Star prompts viewers to consider how cultural touchstones like songs and shared histories are fragmented and woven together in new ways over time. The work unfolds in three chapters, beginning with a view of the metropolis set to Ca Dao, or Vietnamese folk poems, before shifting to an aspiring YouTube star performing a cover of “The Sound of Silence” and concluding with footage of children at a Ho Chi Minh City orphanage. Although each chapter focuses on different voices and perspectives, they are linked by messages of grief and care that remain unheard or misunderstood and by reminders of pain, isolation, and trauma. Nguyen’s camera captures trash-strewn landscapes, quiet interiors, and fragmented bodies, highlighting subtle movements that suggest our surroundings are alive, swelling with the memories of the past.

Diane Severin Nguyen: Tyrant Star is organized by Hannah Turpin, curatorial assistant for modern and contemporary art and photography.

It opened on November 18 and is available online at the CMOA's website through Sunday the 14th.

Pittsburgh City-Paper profiles Asian restaurants and communities this Lunar New Year season.

photo by Jared Wickerham.

Kimberly Rooney 高小荣 in the Pittsburgh City-Paper today looks at how Asian restaurants and communities are spending this Lunar New Year season.

The Year of the Rat is nearing its end, and many Asian Americans are preparing for Lunar New Year celebrations. But as we usher in the Year of the Ox, many must compromise and adjust their traditional and personal rituals to keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe. And Asian Americans in Pittsburgh are no different.