“One of the most important new voices in both queer and avant-garde cinema, Haddad’s work can alternate between languid and truly abrasive rhythms, often inhabiting a POV that feels truly dangerous in a filmmaking landscape for young directors so encouraging of “niceness”.” – Ethan Vestby, Bleeding Edge

Coming in hot from the north, this six-film survey of Canadian filmmaker Kalil Haddad’s incendiary and truly strange work makes its stateside microcinema debut this summer at Spectacle theater. A retrospective screening that shows a young artist’s evolution over the years, the progression of films tells a unique story: one that grows increasingly disturbing and aesthetically bold, culminating in the truly shocking VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE. Spectacle is thrilled to showcase this fulsome array of Haddad’s films, following a February 2024 screening of THE TAKING OF JORDAN alongside the new bizarro Ontarian classic, Nate Wilson’s THE ALL GOLDEN.

THURSDAY, JULY 3 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, JULY 12 – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, JULY 18 – 7:30 PM followed by Q&A with Kalil Haddad
TUESDAY, JULY 29 – 10 PM

SPECIAL EVENT TICKETS
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS

THE BEAUTIFUL ROOM IS EMPTY
Dir. Kalil Haddad, 2020.
Canada. 20 min.

As her childhood home is emptied for sale, Marie wanders through spaces both concrete and virtual as she attempts to navigate the ghosts of her past.

THE BOYS OF SUMMER
Dir. Kalil Haddad, 2021.
Canada. 6 min.

Some fun in the sun.

HIS SMELL
Dir. Kalil Haddad, 2023.
Canada. 14 min.

Sebastian’s roommate is away for the weekend…

THE TAKING OF JORDAN
Dir. Kalil Haddad, 2022.
Canada. 8 min.

Jordan, an amateur adult performer, recalls the horror of his many former lives.

THE BOY WAS FOUND UNHARMED
Dir. Kalil Haddad, 2024.
Canada. 3 min.

Jody remembers being eleven.

VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE
Dir. Kalil Haddad, 2024.
Canada. 21 min.

Scott and Brandon meet in the 1980s at an orphanage. When Brandon sets off for California, Scott follows closely behind. A story told through the pages of an adult magazine.