A lone standing stone in silhouette, set against the backdrop of a sunset

This #earthday see A YEAR IN A FIELD on the big screen at the Roxy Theatre in Saskatoon! Weds April 22 ! If you love the mystery of standing stones, incredible folk music, the quiet wonder of nature and/or are very concerned about the climate crisis, this film is for you. Tix: www.roxysaskatoon.ca

Photos from our reading yesterday with @kierlajanisse.bsky.social / @spectacularoptical.bsky.social 🎬 Thank you to our friends at the Calgary Underground Film Festival for making this happen!

Today at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social in Calgary 4:00pm co-presented by Calgary Underground FF! I'll be talking about our Robert Downey Sr. book w/ some clips + reading from my book COCKFIGHT. The store will have these and other books in stock, like SATANIC PANIC, HOPW + YULETIDE TERROR!

"An ancient monolith stands sentinel in a Cornish field for millennia. Part provocation, part meditation, part invocation, BAFTA-winning documentarian Christopher Morris’s A YEAR IN A FIELD is a record of their brief interaction." Now booking in North America from spectacularoptical.com

Spectacular Optical Launches Indie Film Label with MELODY, A YEAR IN A FIELD, and More I keep hearing rumours of a renaissance of physical media and in-person creative events, and as one who keeps buying books, cd's, blu-rays, etc., I for one welcome such as renaissance. We're i...

Thanks to Shelagh Rowan-Legg at @screenanarchy.bsky.social for sharing the news about Spectacular Optical's new foray into film distribution! screenanarchy.com/2026/04/-spe...

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.

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

SPECTACULAR OPTICAL LAUNCHES FILM DISTRIBUTION BRANCH Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

BIG NEWS!! spectacularoptical.com/news/spectac...

KIER-LA JANISSE READING & BOOK SIGNING at Shelf Life Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

Kier-La Janisse will be reading + signing at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social in Calgary on Saturday April 18th to plug Spectacular Optical's two most recent books TRUTH & SOUL and COCKFIGHT spectacularoptical.com/events/kier-...

Man in a zoot suit crucified

First of 3 full-page spreads spelling out Downey's surname with a quote or quip about Greaser's Palace underneath.

For those who celebrate Easter Weekend, here's Allan Arbus as Jesse in Robert Downey Sr.'s messianic western, GREASER'S PALACE, and the full page ads that promoted it in The Village Voice in Dec 1972.
Read all about it in our book TRUTH & SOUL: A ROBERT DOWNEY SR. READER at spectacularoptical.com

MAN OF THE YEAR: Debt and Redemption in SKIP TRACER
A new video essay by @stephenbroomer.bsky.social on Zale Dalen's 1977 cult classic, starring David Petersen in one of the most indelible performances in Canadian film history. See it now at spectacularoptical.com

I just posted about SKIP TRACER today! New video essay about it going live on the website tomorrow.

Tomorrow! The new episode of @stephenbroomer.bsky.social's NORTHERN LIGHT video essay series (on Canadian classics, hits and misfits) goes live on spectacularoptical.com, this time covering what may be my all-time favourite Canadian feature film: Zale Dalen's SKIP TRACER (1977).

Less than a week til the German premiere of THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM at @finalgirlsberlin.bsky.social !! Playing as part of the "Nightmares" short film program - Get tix here: www.finalgirlsberlin.com/2026/shorts8

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.

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...

In Cornwall last fall for a *soon-to-be-announced* Spectacular Optical project, we stopped by the hotel from Nicolas Roeg's 1990 adaptation of THE WITCHES

Just Announced! THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM will have its German Premiere at @finalgirlsberlin.bsky.social on March 7th - details on their website here: www.finalgirlsberlin.com/2026/shorts8

Image of small plane plummeting toward the ground against a blue sky with the text "FALLING FROM THE SKY: ACCIDENT AS TESTIMONIAL DOCUMENTARY"

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

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.

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...

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

BEN PETRIE_GHOST STORIES (720p) This is "BEN PETRIE_GHOST STORIES (720p)" by Kier-La Janisse on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Since 'tis the season for all things ghostly, here's Ben Petrie who played The Porter in THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM talking about the ghost stories that have most affected him. The film is playing tomorrow (Dec 23) in Seattle at The Beacon Cinema w/ SCHALCKEN THE PAINTER! vimeo.com/1148734613/7...

Slipcase editions of our Robert Downey Sr. book TRUTH & SOUL have shipped!
Thanks to Taylor at scream&writhe distro for getting them out the door so quick as soon as they arrived from the printer !
There are a limited number still available at spectacularoptical.com

THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM_Kier-La Janisse_Influences (720p) This is "THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM_Kier-La Janisse_Influences (720p)" by Kier-La Janisse on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love…

So now that a few of you have had a chance to watch my film THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM, here's me blabbing about a few of the films that were influences on it! (and don't worry there are no actual spoilers in this video) vimeo.com/1146798514/f...

WINTER’S WAKE – A Celebration of the Seasonal Ghost Story Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

Just over a week til the inaugural Winter's Wake - a celebration of the seasonal ghost story on Pender Island, BC, Canada - featuring the gulf islands premiere of THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM. Few tickets remain: share.google/BGJvVgsrTHQl...

UPDATED SCREENINGS!
More screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM added: Dec 6th at @triskelartscentre.bsky.social w BLACK CHRISTMAS, Dec 23 at the Beacon in Seattle w A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS, and Dec 30 at Stray Cat Film Center in KCMO w/ Sean Hogan's "To Fire You Come at Last"

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

THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM is a deliciously chilly little ghost story for Christmas — Moviejawn by Samantha McLaren, Associate Editor Director Kier-La Janisse leans into the classic ghostly scares of the source material, while also adding her own unique spin.

MJ's @themeatispeople.bsky.social says, "THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM is the sort of film that is haunting in the truest sense, its chill settling deep in the bones."

Check out @kierlajanisse.bsky.social first narrative outing streaming on @shudder.com

#theoccupantoftheroom #nowstreaming #shudder

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.

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...

ESSENTIAL NON-FICTION FILM, MUSIC AND CULTURE BOOKS OF 2025 Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.

Our Holiday gift guide! spectacularoptical.com/articles/ess...

Dec 1 - Shudder premiere Dec 1 - Cinematic Void/American Cinematheque, LA Dec 7 - Music Box theatre, Chicago Dec 16 - Alamo Drafthouse SF, Raleigh, Dallas, Woodbury and Chicago Dec 21 - Philosophical Research Society, LA Dec 21 - Winter's Wake ghost story festival, Pender Island Canada Dec 19 + 20 - Dave Barber Cinematheque, Winnipeg with Don McKellar in person

Upcoming screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM, beginning tomorrow with its premiere on @shudder.com as part of annual series THE HAUNTED SEASON (in all their territories!)
Scan through the list to see if it is coming to a theatre near you!