1991 Hong Kong film Center Stage (阮玲玉) online via Row House Cinema, through May 6.

The 1991 Hong Kong film Center Stage (阮玲玉), starring Maggie Cheung, is playing online via Row House Cinema through May 6.

Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan’s unconventional biopic tells the tragic story of “Greta Garbo of China” — Ruan Lingyu, played by Maggie Cheung. Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24. Kwan and Cheung paint a kaleidoscopic yet intimate portrait of the ill-fated actress, deftly blending lush period drama, archival footage, and metatextual documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s legacy. The result is, much like the films of Ruan Lingyu themselves, “tender, vivid and almost overwhelmingly moving” (Time Out)

Tickets are available online.

"Representation & Translation" (with Anton Hur, Jeremy Tiang, and others), May 14 with City of Asylum and Pittsburgh International Literary Festival.

City of Asylum will present "Representation & Translation" on May 14 as part of its Pittsburgh International Literary Festival.

Literary translation catapulted to the international stage because of the recent controversy surrounding the hiring, backlash, and firing of the Danish translator for US inaugural poet Amanda Gorman. Questions around identity & the permission to translate zoomed into focused. But is this wrong question?
Instead, shouldn’t we question the scarcity of Black translators and translators of color? Or talk about dismantling patterns that make it harder for translators of color to access opportunities. How can City of Asylum and others US literary organizations foster a translation community that reflects the diversity of our world? Join a panel of translators as they share their thoughts on these questions and others.

Speakers include Anton Hur (translator from Korean) and Jeremy Tiang (translator from Chinese). The event runs from 7:00 to 8:15 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

2019 Hong Kong film Twilight's Kiss (叔．叔), online with City of Asylum and ReelQ, April 28.

The 2019 Ray Yeung film Twilight's Kiss (叔．叔) will play online with City of Asylum and ReelQ on April 28.

TWILIGHT’S KISS (SUK SUK) presents the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years. One day PAK, 70, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets HOI, 65, a retired single father, in a park. Despite years of societal and personal pressure, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together.

It plays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The movie is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Celebrate 143 Day (or "I Love You" Day) with Jasmine Cho and special guests, May 23 (online).

Kidsburgh and Remake Learning will present an online cooking event with author, baker, and activist Jasmine Cho on May 23 to mark "I Love You" Day.

Kidsburgh and Remake Learning Days are thrilled to present a series of baking events with Jasmine Cho. In this virtual session, we celebrate the 143rd day of the year which is declared the day of kindness in honor of Fred Rogers. The numbers had special meaning to Mister Rogers as the number of letters reflected his favorite phrase, "I love you."

In this workshop, Jasmine Cho is joined by special guests Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski, the authors of the book "When You Wonder, You're Learning." Playful and practical, this book brings the lessons of Mister Rogers into the digital age, introducing a new generation of families to the lessons of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Baking extraordinaire Jasmine will teach families how to make a special cookie inspired by this book while Gregg and Ryan will share fun anecdotes from the book for families.

This event is free! After registration, recipes and the Zoom meeting link will be emailed to you about a week prior to the event. We welcome interaction with kids (and adults!) and happily take questions.

The event runs from 4:00 to 5:00 pm and is free, though registration is required.

Virtual Poetry Reading: "Cleave" by Tiana Nobile w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen ("Ghost Of"), June 11 (online) with White Whale Bookstore.

White Whale Bookstore presents Virtual Poetry Reading: "Cleave" by Tiana Nobile w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen ("Ghost Of") on June 11.

We’re excited and grateful to be on Tiana Nobile’s virtual tour for her collection of poems, Cleave (Hub City Press)! She’ll be joined by local poet and professor, Diana Khoi Nguyen (Ghost Of, Omnidawn) for a reading.

Both poets’ books are available on our Bookshop.org list for recent and upcoming events. Check out our curated lists and picks on our main Bookshop.org affiliate page, or use the search bar in the upper center-right to look for any book. (Using the book's ISBN usually works best.)

"In Tiana Nobile's wonderful Cleave, the condition of the Korean-American adoptee is that of a wandering orbitless moon. The speaker fills the absence of her birth mother with aching questions of home, motherhood, and selfhood. Using the scant documentation she has with her deeply felt imagination, Nobile obsessively revisits the mystery of her birth until she creates her own mythic origin story that is beautiful, melancholic and powerful. Tiana Nobile is a bright new talent." —Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning

The event starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available until 6:30 pm on the 11th at free and pay-what-you-can pricepoints.

2020 Korean-American film Minari remains in Pittsburgh through (at least) April 26.

The 2020 Korean-American film Minari, which opened in Pittsburgh on February 11, will remain here through at least April 26. A synopsis, from the distributor:

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

It will continue at the AMC Loews Waterfront and Tull Family Theater, and tickets are available online.

2018 Japanese film Mirai (未来のミライ) online at Pitt, April 28.

The University of Pittsburgh's Office of International Services will present the 2018 Japanese film Mirai (未来のミライ) on April 28 as an installment of its Watch Party Wednesday series. 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.

The movie starts at 7:00 pm and registration is required.

2020 Japanese movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」 無限列車編) in Pittsburgh, from April 22.

The 2020 Japanese animated movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」 無限列車編) will play in Pittsburgh from April 23. A synopsis of the top-grossing film in Japan last year, from the theaters:

Tanjiro Kamado, joined with Inosuke Hashibira, a boy raised by boars who wears a boar's head, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, a scared boy who reveals his true power when he sleeps, board the Infinity Train on a new mission with the Fire Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku, to defeat a demon who has been tormenting the people and killing the demon slayers who oppose it!

It will play locally at numerous local theaters, including AMC Loews Waterfront, Waterworks Cinemas, Cranberry Cinemas, the Hollywood Theater in Dormont, and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen (online) at Pittsburgh International Literary Festival, May 19.

City of Asylum will host Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen online for its Pittsburgh International Literary Festival on May 19.

Vietnamese-American novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses The Committed, his much-anticipated sequel to his Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Sympathizer. This newest novel is fierce in tone, capacious, witty, sharp, and deeply researched. The Committed marks not just a sequel to its groundbreaking predecessor, but a sum total accumulation of a life devoted to Vietnamese American history and scholarship. It asks questions central to Vietnamese everywhere—and to our very species: How do we live in the wake of seismic loss and betrayal?

The hour-long talk begins at 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Mieko Kawakami (online) at Pittsburgh International Literary Festival, May 18.

Japanese author Mieko Kawakami will appear with translators Sam Bett and David Boyd online as part of the Pittsburgh International Literary Festival on May 18.

Mixing wry humor and riveting emotional depth, Mieko Kawakami is one of Japan’s most important and best-selling contemporary writers. She exploded onto the cultural scene first as a musician, then as a poet and popular blogger, and is now an award-winning novelist. Her first novel to be published in English, Breast and Eggs, was rated one of Time Magazine’s 10 best books of 2020. The novel is a radical and intimate portrait of contemporary working class womanhood in Japan, recounting the heartbreaking journeys of three women in a society where the odds are stacked against them. Hear from Mieko Kawakami and her translators live to discuss Breast and Eggs and celebrate the launch of Kawakami’s next, highly anticipated English release, Heaven. LitFest 2021 marks the novel’s debut event—an evening not to be missed!

The one-hour talk starts at 8:00 pm; it is free and open to the public, but registration is required.