Shelly Kraicer
@shellyk.bsky.social
Cinema / film art in China, Hong Kong, & Taiwan especially independent films & films from within the Chinese borderlands (Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hong Kong…). And I create English subtitles for Chinese-language films.
Yes, even in Hong Kong, where massive amounts of teargas were used against peaceful protesters in 2019, the police famously deployed charming banners warning that use was imminent before they (unjustifiably) unleashed it.
February 4, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Yes, even in Hong Kong, where massive amounts of teargas were used against peaceful protesters in 2019, the police famously deployed charming banners warning that use was imminent before they (unjustifiably) unleashed it.
Toronto: we should learn from Varna, Bulgaria! Absolutely.
Varna, Bulgaria.
Citywide implementation of a protected wide side walks and a 2 lane bicycle path like this.
- encourages people to walk and bike more
- brings life to small business that setup shop on first floor
In lived and walked on this street for 5 years before and 5 years after this change.
Citywide implementation of a protected wide side walks and a 2 lane bicycle path like this.
- encourages people to walk and bike more
- brings life to small business that setup shop on first floor
In lived and walked on this street for 5 years before and 5 years after this change.
February 4, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Toronto: we should learn from Varna, Bulgaria! Absolutely.
Reposted by Shelly Kraicer
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
I originally wrote this short essay The Use and Abuse of Chinese Cinema in the West 15 years ago. The analysis may still be useful, even if the films referenced are a bit dated, so I’m reposting it here. Thanks to dGenerate Films for posting the original piece.
shellyk.substack.com/p/the-use-an...
shellyk.substack.com/p/the-use-an...
February 4, 2026 at 5:56 PM
I originally wrote this short essay The Use and Abuse of Chinese Cinema in the West 15 years ago. The analysis may still be useful, even if the films referenced are a bit dated, so I’m reposting it here. Thanks to dGenerate Films for posting the original piece.
shellyk.substack.com/p/the-use-an...
shellyk.substack.com/p/the-use-an...
Reposted by Shelly Kraicer
Some people are asking what I want Schumer to do. He should be screaming over medical care and access to facilities. He should be going to detention facilities himself and putting his body on the line, as he did at the border in 2019. He should lean into stories about New Yorkers in detention. [1/4]
February 4, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Some people are asking what I want Schumer to do. He should be screaming over medical care and access to facilities. He should be going to detention facilities himself and putting his body on the line, as he did at the border in 2019. He should lean into stories about New Yorkers in detention. [1/4]
Reposted by Shelly Kraicer
CYCLONE 超風, Philip Yung’s new film about a transsexual from China living in Hong Kong, is such a rich and complicated text. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It’s problematic, but at its best, it’s powerful & provocative: totally engaged cinema.
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
February 4, 2026 at 3:49 AM
CYCLONE 超風, Philip Yung’s new film about a transsexual from China living in Hong Kong, is such a rich and complicated text. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It’s problematic, but at its best, it’s powerful & provocative: totally engaged cinema.
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
Excellent move by the Canadian government: establishing a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, as a show of support for Greenlanders' right to self-determination (and resistance to US neo-imperialism).
Bonus note: Canadian Governors-General can do useful things!
www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Bonus note: Canadian Governors-General can do useful things!
www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
February 4, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Excellent move by the Canadian government: establishing a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, as a show of support for Greenlanders' right to self-determination (and resistance to US neo-imperialism).
Bonus note: Canadian Governors-General can do useful things!
www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Bonus note: Canadian Governors-General can do useful things!
www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Finally, we are learning that Americans by and large are beginning to be revolted by the Trump regime's plan for dozens (!) of huge concentration camps in which to imprison migrants. Read this piece in the New Republic by @gregsargent.bsky.social
February 4, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Finally, we are learning that Americans by and large are beginning to be revolted by the Trump regime's plan for dozens (!) of huge concentration camps in which to imprison migrants. Read this piece in the New Republic by @gregsargent.bsky.social
Why are the leaders of the U.S. opposition, the Democratic Party, defending the existence and continued operation of ICE? This is insane.
Abolish. Repudiate
Discipline. Prosecute.
(“reign in” and “reform” are miserably feeble and, in this climate, actually constitute a defence of ICE)
Abolish. Repudiate
Discipline. Prosecute.
(“reign in” and “reform” are miserably feeble and, in this climate, actually constitute a defence of ICE)
Democrats want commonsense reform for ICE:
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
February 4, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Why are the leaders of the U.S. opposition, the Democratic Party, defending the existence and continued operation of ICE? This is insane.
Abolish. Repudiate
Discipline. Prosecute.
(“reign in” and “reform” are miserably feeble and, in this climate, actually constitute a defence of ICE)
Abolish. Repudiate
Discipline. Prosecute.
(“reign in” and “reform” are miserably feeble and, in this climate, actually constitute a defence of ICE)
CYCLONE 超風, Philip Yung’s new film about a transsexual from China living in Hong Kong, is such a rich and complicated text. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It’s problematic, but at its best, it’s powerful & provocative: totally engaged cinema.
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
February 4, 2026 at 3:49 AM
CYCLONE 超風, Philip Yung’s new film about a transsexual from China living in Hong Kong, is such a rich and complicated text. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It’s problematic, but at its best, it’s powerful & provocative: totally engaged cinema.
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
Some preliminary thoughts: boxd.it/cYKE9Z
I do listen regularly only to a couple (In Our Time, Accidental Tech Podcast). I'll check this one :) Thanks Darren.
February 3, 2026 at 8:13 PM
I do listen regularly only to a couple (In Our Time, Accidental Tech Podcast). I'll check this one :) Thanks Darren.
Good summary, with humour, about how Tim Cook has recently trashed Apple’s reputation and torn up our goodwill towards a once admirable (somewhat) corporation.
www.macworld.com/article/3050...
www.macworld.com/article/3050...
If Apple is richer than ever, why does it feel so broke?
Tim Cook's choices may keep the company in the black, but Apple fans are starting to see red.
www.macworld.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Good summary, with humour, about how Tim Cook has recently trashed Apple’s reputation and torn up our goodwill towards a once admirable (somewhat) corporation.
www.macworld.com/article/3050...
www.macworld.com/article/3050...
Reposted by Shelly Kraicer
What we are learning from the response to ICE. www.pbump.net/o/this-is-wh...
February 3, 2026 at 7:01 PM
What we are learning from the response to ICE. www.pbump.net/o/this-is-wh...
My plan to see Louis Koo in BACK TO THE PAST 尋秦記 today is foiled by almost completely sold out screenings downtown (Yonge & Dundas Cineplex). I can't remember the last time this happened to a Hong Kong film (or any sinophone film) in Toronto. Weird.
February 3, 2026 at 4:08 PM
My plan to see Louis Koo in BACK TO THE PAST 尋秦記 today is foiled by almost completely sold out screenings downtown (Yonge & Dundas Cineplex). I can't remember the last time this happened to a Hong Kong film (or any sinophone film) in Toronto. Weird.
It follows from a kind of perversion of proof by counter-example:
A) if pedophilia is the worst crime we can imagine,
B) then our leader and his associates are guilty of the worst crimes.
But that conclusion can't be accepted.
Therefore, pedophilia can't be a horrible crime.
QED
A) if pedophilia is the worst crime we can imagine,
B) then our leader and his associates are guilty of the worst crimes.
But that conclusion can't be accepted.
Therefore, pedophilia can't be a horrible crime.
QED
February 3, 2026 at 4:04 PM
It follows from a kind of perversion of proof by counter-example:
A) if pedophilia is the worst crime we can imagine,
B) then our leader and his associates are guilty of the worst crimes.
But that conclusion can't be accepted.
Therefore, pedophilia can't be a horrible crime.
QED
A) if pedophilia is the worst crime we can imagine,
B) then our leader and his associates are guilty of the worst crimes.
But that conclusion can't be accepted.
Therefore, pedophilia can't be a horrible crime.
QED
It seems (or used to seem) unimaginable; but we can see Trump-supporting Republicans, after crashing through taboos on openly embracing and repeating fascist/Nazi propaganda, now sliding towards openly embracing pedophilia as an acceptable practice for elite, dominant males in US society.
February 3, 2026 at 4:02 PM
It seems (or used to seem) unimaginable; but we can see Trump-supporting Republicans, after crashing through taboos on openly embracing and repeating fascist/Nazi propaganda, now sliding towards openly embracing pedophilia as an acceptable practice for elite, dominant males in US society.
This mirrors a key turning point in Hong Kong's 2019 protest movement: once the HK police started indiscriminately attacking massive peaceful protests with teargas, the majority of Hong Kong citizens were shocked, energized, and motivated to join in or support the anti-government protests. /2
February 3, 2026 at 3:57 PM
This mirrors a key turning point in Hong Kong's 2019 protest movement: once the HK police started indiscriminately attacking massive peaceful protests with teargas, the majority of Hong Kong citizens were shocked, energized, and motivated to join in or support the anti-government protests. /2
The form of this terrific piece in the Verge mirrors its meaning: @sarahjeong.bsky.social has compiled and contextualized interviews of individual victims of mass teargassing. The impact of this event will be to politicize and motivate, one by one, peaceful victims of the federal agents' attack. 1/
February 3, 2026 at 3:57 PM
The form of this terrific piece in the Verge mirrors its meaning: @sarahjeong.bsky.social has compiled and contextualized interviews of individual victims of mass teargassing. The impact of this event will be to politicize and motivate, one by one, peaceful victims of the federal agents' attack. 1/
Have you tried oversize music scores in the Edward Johnson Library (UofT Faculty of Music)? You not only get "Spem in allium" (Tallis' 40 part motel, gargantuan) but all kinds of gorgeous 20th century avant garde scores, some written perhaps more to be looked at than to be played.
The oversized book area in uni libraries is always such a potpourri
(Gerstein science library at u of t)
(Gerstein science library at u of t)
February 3, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Have you tried oversize music scores in the Edward Johnson Library (UofT Faculty of Music)? You not only get "Spem in allium" (Tallis' 40 part motel, gargantuan) but all kinds of gorgeous 20th century avant garde scores, some written perhaps more to be looked at than to be played.
This is inspiring and exciting to read/re-read! Even for a pedestrian translator of subtitles :)
I'm reading these notes on the art of translation and I'm just going YES THIS! So I'm sharing for everyone else.
Emily Wilson’s notes on her translation are really interesting reading, even without a background in Mediterranean classics — this actually makes me a lot more interested in the Nolan version than I would’ve been!
February 3, 2026 at 12:29 AM
This is inspiring and exciting to read/re-read! Even for a pedestrian translator of subtitles :)
Mamdani’s touch is (so far) unerring. What would someone like him who gets a chance to lead Toronto do, for starters? Old City Hall is just sitting there, for one thing. That’s a small one. One big thing: convince Torontonians to support trying out congestion pricing for drivers entering downtown.
Not earth-shattering, but a small, fast, smart, civic, right move. These add up, and they illustrate the right instincts and intentions for New York City.
It’s your city, from the sidewalk to the skyline. The David Dinkins Municipal Building’s rooftop is open & free to everyone, starting this June.
February 2, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Mamdani’s touch is (so far) unerring. What would someone like him who gets a chance to lead Toronto do, for starters? Old City Hall is just sitting there, for one thing. That’s a small one. One big thing: convince Torontonians to support trying out congestion pricing for drivers entering downtown.
... it's mostly about a girl's delightfully intelligent and indomitable resilience in the face of realistic challenges. Brilliant first film. 4/4
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
... it's mostly about a girl's delightfully intelligent and indomitable resilience in the face of realistic challenges. Brilliant first film. 4/4
(and on Ah Girl, who has a remarkable money-making solution that I won't divulge here). There's a sadness in the film, and some tension, but this is not a dark suspenseful miserablist melodrama about kids in economic and gender peril: ... 3/
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
(and on Ah Girl, who has a remarkable money-making solution that I won't divulge here). There's a sadness in the film, and some tension, but this is not a dark suspenseful miserablist melodrama about kids in economic and gender peril: ... 3/
Director Ang is marvellous with children: we saw this in her two previous shorts too. The Singapore in the film is not the glossy city that its gov't promotes to tourists: the film largely takes place in public housing, and realistic economic pressures weigh heavily on the adult protagonists 2/
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Director Ang is marvellous with children: we saw this in her two previous shorts too. The Singapore in the film is not the glossy city that its gov't promotes to tourists: the film largely takes place in public housing, and realistic economic pressures weigh heavily on the adult protagonists 2/
1/ AH GIRL is a delightful first film by Ang Geck Geck about a young girl dealing with a broken family. It's funny/sad: the young actress who plays Ah Girl is fantastically natural (and sur-natural): she's amusing, expressive, weird, compelling, all without using that hyper "child actor" style.
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
1/ AH GIRL is a delightful first film by Ang Geck Geck about a young girl dealing with a broken family. It's funny/sad: the young actress who plays Ah Girl is fantastically natural (and sur-natural): she's amusing, expressive, weird, compelling, all without using that hyper "child actor" style.