THIS SATURDAY in TORONTO! Sat. Aug 1, 3:00pm at Revue Cinema - Robert Downey Sr.'s 1969 advertising satire PUTNEY SWOPE - Toronto launch for our book TRUTH & SOUL: A ROBERT DOWNEY SR. READER Editors @kierlajanisse.bsky.social & Clint Enns in person w/ contributors @stephenbroomer.bsky.social & more

This fall, I'll be teaching Experimental Film at Innis College, at University of Toronto. The course will include field trips, a tremendous amount of rare work screened on 16mm film, and will be tied to a series of screenings at the Ad Hoc series, which will be open to the public. #experimentalfilm

NOW LIVE: The new episode of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social's video essay series NORTHERN LIGHT exploring Canadian classics, hits + misfits: this time focused on Crawley Films' fungal farce AMANITA PESTILENS (1963) spectacularoptical.com/video-essays...

THE DON JUAN OF THE LAWN: OBSESSION AND ESTRANGEMENT IN AMANITA PESTI…

Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

spectacularoptical.com

DON JUAN OF THE LAWN: Obsession and Estrangement in AMANITA PESTILENS - the latest in @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's video essay series NORTHERN LIGHT focused on Canadian cinema classics, hits and misfits. See it June 1st at spectacularoptical.com

FURNACES OF FREEDOM: ECSTASY AND ASSIMILATION IN THE NAKED FLAME - a new video essay by @stephenbroomer.bsky.social as part of our NORTHERN LIGHT series focused on Canadian classics, hits & misfits. See it May 1 at spectacularoptical.com

NEW ep of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social's NORTHERN LIGHT video essay series on Canadian classics, hits & misfits: THE NAKED FLAME (aka DEADLINE FOR MURDER, 1964), canuxploitation set in the fictional Alberta mining town of Little Creek. See it at spectacularoptical.com

SPECTACULAR OPTICAL LAUNCHES FILM DISTRIBUTION BRANCH - First Slate of Titles Includes new restorations of Waris Hussein’s MELODY (1971), Bert Deling’s PURE SHIT (1975) and Andrew Horn’s DOOMED LOVE (1984), plus BAFTA Award Winning Documentarian Christopher Morris’ A YEAR IN A FIELD (2023) and more

Kier-La Janisse Moves Her Spectacular Optical Label Into Distribution

Spectacular Optical, the indie publishing imprint of Canadian genre veteran Kier-La Janisse, has expanded its remit to include distribution.

deadline.com

Happy to see @stephenbroomer.bsky.social's critical biography of the great Canadian experimental filmmaker Arthur Lipsett finally available at an affordable price: vinegarsyndrome.com/collections/...

Secret Museums: The Films of Arthur Lipsett - Paperback Book

By Stephen Broomer Arthur Lipsett’s first film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1962, marking the arrival of an influential new voice. The film’s dark humour and dancing rhythms had captured the

vinegarsyndrome.com

Now live on spectacularoptical.com - The newest episode of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social's NORTHERN LIGHT video essay series on Canadian classics, hits and misfits, this time focused on Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell's YOU ARE ON INDIAN LAND (1969). spectacularoptical.com/video-essays...

A PLACE TO STAND: Authorship and Activism in YOU ARE ON INDIAN LAND

Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

spectacularoptical.com

Now live on spectacularoptical.com - the latest instalment of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's video essay series on Canadian classics, hits and misfits, NORTHERN LIGHT - this time focused on Martin Duckworth and Pat Crawley’s ACCIDENT (1973).

Next month on @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's video essay series NORTHERN LIGHT: FALLING FROM THE SKY: ACCIDENT (1973) AS TESTIMONAL DOCUMENTARY - see it February 1 at spectacularoptical.com

Screening last night in CMPF207 - my studio course in collage filmmaking. 1. A La Mode (Stan Vanderbeek, 1961). 2. Very Nice, Very Nice (Arthur Lipsett, 1961). 3. Aleph (Wallace Berman, 1958-1976). 4. Odds and Ends (Jane Conger Belson, 1959).

A special short film gets some love from @stephenbroomer.bsky.social in this month's NORTHERN LIGHT. I think I first saw it projected onto a wall on Winnipeg's Main Street, where it is set.

Spectacular Optical Media@spectacularoptical.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New episode of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's NORTHERN LIGHT went live on Spectacular Optical today! This month the spotlight is on Leonard Yakir's 1972 Winnipeg documentary MAINSTREET SOLDIER: spectacularoptical.com/video-essays...

New episode of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's NORTHERN LIGHT went live on Spectacular Optical today! This month the spotlight is on Leonard Yakir's 1972 Winnipeg documentary MAINSTREET SOLDIER: spectacularoptical.com/video-essays...

WAR AT HOME: MAINSTREET SOLDIER AS ANTI-EPIC

Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

spectacularoptical.com

Next on @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's Northern Light: WAR AT HOME: MAINSTREET SOLDIER AS ANTI-EPIC: "Broomer situates Leonard Yakir’s celebrated short film in the context of CanLit’s disillusioned anti-heroes, and the tensions of performance in cinema verité." Jan 1 @ spectacularoptical.com

Never sleep on a Derek Jenkins screening. He and Eugenia Zuroski have made my favourite film of 2025!

James Leo Cahill@jamesleocahill.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Toronto... you mostly blew it on the Carol Mavor event last week, but here's another chance to be in on something cool... A program of films by @derekbjenkins.bsky.social with the artist in attendance. Presented by AdHoc. www.cinema.utoronto.ca/events/ad-ho...

THE TRAGEDY OF THE VIKING The new video essay in @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's monthly series NORTHERN LIGHT focused on Canadian classics, hits and misfits. Now live at spectacularoptical.com

NEW episode of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social 's video essay series NORTHERN LIGHT is up! This one exploring the tragic tale of George Melford and Lewis Varick Frissell’s The Viking (1931) spectacularoptical.com/video-essays...

THE TRAGEDY OF THE VIKING

Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

spectacularoptical.com

One of the things I'm proudest of is this restoration and its presentation on this disc: a video essay, a speculative reconstruction of a lost film, an audio commentary, and a bonus 'sequel' film. I'm so glad I've been able to share this genuinely original and imaginative film.

Black Zero@blackzerodisc.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Our first release was Palace of Pleasure (1967), the only existing film by Canadian underground filmmaker John Hofsess. It is presented as a therapeutic treatment, to heal the soul through the eyes... Available now in our online store, in a special limited edition!

NEW on Spectacular Optical: NORTHERN LIGHT - a monthly video essay series on the classics, hits and misfits of Canadian cinema hosted by @blackzerodisc.bsky.social 's Stephen Broomer. First episode "The Invasion Will Be Televised" now online at spectacularoptical.com/video-essays...

TRUTH & SOUL: A ROBERT DOWNEY SR. READER now available. 23 essays, 332 pages, full colour! spectacularoptical.com/product/trut...

TRUTH & SOUL

Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

spectacularoptical.com

A film about coercion that is itself coercive, 'In the Dark' (2000) draws on imminent cultural anxieties as a young woman accepts a challenge from an unknown Master of Games. Read the latest October Horror piece from @stephenbroomer.bsky.social!

'In the Dark' (2000): Temptation and the Willing Victim - Split Tooth Media

A film about coercion that is itself coercive, 'In the Dark' draws on cultural anxieties as a woman accepts a challenge from a Master of Games

splittoothmedia.com

The Way Things Go is a work of absolute machined precision. Check out our video essay about it. Below is an excerpt!

At Black Zero, we rely on Canada Post for all of our shipping needs. As of September 25, 2025, Canada Post has gone on strike. As a result, we must pause all shipments until their operations resume. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and support.

Next Thursday, September 11, at Innis Town Hall, as part of the ongoing Ad Hoc programming - our new restoration of Larry Kardish's Slow Run! With the filmmaker in person. Don't miss this hidden gem of the New York Underground. Discs will be for sale at the launch.

If you are in the U.S. and want some Black Zero discs, order them by Wednesday 5PM! I am not at all sure how long we will be pausing but it might be for a while.

Black Zero@blackzerodisc.bsky.social · 11mo ago

An important update for our U.S. customers…

Hard at work on my newest series, Northern Light, on Canadian cinema. It’ll be my most traditional and straightforward series yet - but by these standards, that means, get ready for near-death experiences, docudramas about nude cults, and Lacanian interpretations of hoser/loser masterpieces.

ESSENTIAL VIEWING: Filmmaker and @blackzerodisc.bsky.social founder @stephenbroomer.bsky.social just posted a very timely and disturbing video essay for Canada Day on Rob Fothergill's 1970 film COUNTDOWN CANADA: youtu.be/57oCoeb9mYw

The Invasion Will Be Televised: Countdown Canada as Anticipatory Docudrama

YouTube video by artandtrash

youtu.be

Out this June: "Secret Museums: The Films of Arthur Lipsett", by @stephenbroomer.bsky.social . Pub. Wilfrid Laurier University Press expcinema.org/site/en/book...

Secret Museums: The Films of Arthur Lipsett

Arthur Lipsett’s first film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1962, marking the arrival of an influential new voice. The film’s dark humour and dancing rhythms had captured the spirit of his times...

expcinema.org