Dr. Urbansky discusses the challenges faced by Chinese immigrants during the late Tsarist Empire and early Soviet Union, highlighting the racial and cultural prejudices that fueled hostilities in urban settings. His analysis explores how these early interactions shaped the experiences and perceptions of Chinese communities in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape.
Events in UCIS
Wednesday, April 3 until Thursday, April 3
Wednesday, January 22
Celebrate the Year of the Snake! Fun Activities & Delicious Snacks. Come join us and bring in the Lunar New Yeat with joy and excitement!
2025 European Union Film Festival
Luzzu (Malta), 2021, 94 MIN
Directed by Alex Camilleri
Maltese language with English subtitles
Hardworking new father Jesmark, played by a real-life Maltese fisherman, must choose between the traditional way of life practiced by his family for generations and an illicit black-market fishing operation in this stunning neorealist tale operating in the tradition of Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rosselini, and the Dardenne brothers.
Pitt Students/Faculty and Staff: Free Admission with a valid Pitt ID
General Admission: $9.00 (Students/Seniors) and $11.00 (Regular)
2025 European Union Film Festival
Double Feature
6:00 PM-Feathers or Glamour (Estonia)
Estonian urban chicken “farming.” Chickens as pets in bedazzled diapers. It is a short film.
6:30 pm Alcarras (Spain)
In the small village of Alcarràs in Catalonia, the peach farmers of the Solé family spend every summer together picking fruit from their orchard. But when new plans arise to install solar panels and cut down trees, the members of this tight-knit group suddenly face eviction – and the loss of far more than their home.
Winner of the Golden Bear at Berlinale, the sophomore film from Carla Simón (Summer 1993) is a sun-dappled, deeply moving ensemble portrait of the countryside and a community’s unbreakable bonds.
2025 European Union Film Festival
Double Feature:
6:00 PM - Feathers or Glamour (Estonia), 2023, 28 MIN
Directed by Eva Kübar
Estonian language with English subtitles
Estonian urban chicken “farming.” Chickens as pets in bedazzled diapers. It is a short film.
6:30 PM - Alcarrás (Spain), 2023, 120 MIN
Directed by Carla Simón
Catalan with English Subtitles
In the small village of Alcarràs in Catalonia, the peach farmers of the Solé family spend every summer together picking fruit from their orchard. But when new plans arise to install solar panels and cut down trees, the members of this tight-knit group suddenly face eviction – and the loss of far more than their home.
Winner of the Golden Bear at Berlinale, the sophomore film from Carla Simón (Summer 1993) is a sun-dappled, deeply moving ensemble portrait of the countryside and a community’s unbreakable bonds.
2025 European Union Film Festival
Double Feature:
6:00 PM -Feathers or Glamour (Estonia)
6:30 PM - Alcarrás
Alcarrás (Spain), 2023, 120 MIN
Directed by Carla Simón
Catalan with English Subtitles
In the small village of Alcarràs in Catalonia, the peach farmers of the Solé family spend every summer together picking fruit from their orchard. But when new plans arise to install solar panels and cut down trees, the members of this tight-knit group suddenly face eviction – and the loss of far more than their home.
Winner of the Golden Bear at Berlinale, the sophomore film from Carla Simón (Summer 1993) is a sun-dappled, deeply moving ensemble portrait of the countryside and a community’s unbreakable bonds.
Reflecting on the global success of Squid Game (Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2021) and its reinvention of the death game genre, this talk explores both the opportunities and challenges presented by new media systems, particularly global video streaming platforms, for local creators.
Netflix, renowned for decentralized approaches and departure from corporate-driven and center-to-local strategies in traditional media, allows for greater financial and creative freedom for local creators. However, concerns have arisen over Netflix’s dominance in local media landscapes and the overreliance of local creators on the platform giant, which would eventually lead to the demise of local media.
In exploring the rise of Netflix as the leading global platform, with a particular focus on its success in Korea, this talk thus aims first to articulate the double-edged nature of platform economy. In the latter part of the talk, attention shifts towards Squid Game itself, focusing on how it creatively adapted to the platform culture and how it questions contemporary capitalism through an innovative investment in the trope of survival game, where participants voluntarily enter the death game, rendering values such as free will empty promises.
Highlighting the show’s own dilemma between its anti-capitalist ethos and its success on Netflix, this talk also addresses the broader irony of resistance within the logic of platform economy that local production faces as the platform ecosystem continues to expand.
Join the Spanish Club for a regular meeting in the Global Hub. The event with a guest speaker has been postponed until February 5 at the same time.
2025 European Union Film Festival
Flowers of Ukraine (Ukraine/Poland), 2024, 70 MIN
Ukrainian language with English subtitles
***with Director Adelina Borets and Producer Glib Lukianets present for Q&A.
Goats and chickens, tomatoes and cucumbers, in the middle of the city, Natalia protects her space in the heart of Kyiv. The fight against gentrification takes on a new front with the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Polish director Adelina Borets traveled to the capital of Ukraine to follow one of the city’s most colorful characters. In her garden, Natalia raises not just vegetables but also goats and chickens. Her garden happens to be in the middle of a block of soviet style buildings in the heart of Kyiv. The 67-year-old force of a person has been fighting gentrification and investors. They want her plot to build another building. Facing pressure from the developers and also from her own neighbors, Natalia stands her ground. The confrontation takes on a whole new dimension with the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now, the battle to protect her garden becomes a battle to preserve an entire way of life.
Pitt Students/Faculty and Staff: Free Admission with a valid Pitt ID
General Admission: $9.00 (Students/Seniors) and $11.00 (Regular)