Winter Kept Us Warm
Encyclopedia
Winter Kept Us Warm is a Canadian
romantic drama film, released in 1965. The title comes from the fifth line of T. S. Eliot
's The Waste Land
.
An independent film written, directed and funded by David Secter
, it occupies a unique place in the history of Canadian cinema as the first English language Canadian film ever screened at the Cannes Film Festival
. Its debut was as the opening film of the Commonwealth Film Festival (Cardiff, 27 September 1965). It was also given a Special Jury Award at the 7th International Montreal Film Festival.
The film starred John Labow as Doug and Henry Tarvainen as Peter, two students at the University of Toronto
who develop a complex quasi-romantic relationship, and Joy Tepperman
and Janet Amos as their girlfriends Bev and Sandra. The film's gay
subtext was carefully coded by Secter, who wrote the film based on his own experience falling in love with a male fellow student but feared that a more explicitly gay film would not attract an audience.
romance. Secter subsequently moved to the United States
. He directed the low budget sex comedy Getting Together, but subsequently left the film industry.
In the 1990s, Secter's nephew Joel rented Getting Together, not knowing that his uncle had directed films. Seeing David's name in the credits, Joel contacted his uncle to talk about his film career. Those discussions ultimately led to Joel Secter's own debut as a filmmaker, the 2005 documentary The Best of Secter & the Rest of Secter. Notable figures who discussed Secter and Winter Kept Us Warm in the documentary included David Cronenberg
, Michael Ondaatje
, Philip Glass
, Ed Mirvish
and Lloyd Kaufman
.
The film was released on DVD by TLA Video in early 2011.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
romantic drama film, released in 1965. The title comes from the fifth line of T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's The Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
.
An independent film written, directed and funded by David Secter
David Secter
David Secter is a Canadian film director. He is best known for the 1965 film Winter Kept Us Warm, the first English Canadian film ever screened at the Cannes Film Festival...
, it occupies a unique place in the history of Canadian cinema as the first English language Canadian film ever screened at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Its debut was as the opening film of the Commonwealth Film Festival (Cardiff, 27 September 1965). It was also given a Special Jury Award at the 7th International Montreal Film Festival.
The film starred John Labow as Doug and Henry Tarvainen as Peter, two students at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
who develop a complex quasi-romantic relationship, and Joy Tepperman
Joy Fielding
Joy Fielding is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature...
and Janet Amos as their girlfriends Bev and Sandra. The film's gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
subtext was carefully coded by Secter, who wrote the film based on his own experience falling in love with a male fellow student but feared that a more explicitly gay film would not attract an audience.
Legacy
Although not widely remembered among the general public, Winter Kept Us Warm is considered a major milestone in the Canadian film industry as one of the first Canadian films ever to attract international attention. Secter made a second film, The Offering, in 1966, one of the first Canadian films to depict an interracialMiscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
romance. Secter subsequently moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He directed the low budget sex comedy Getting Together, but subsequently left the film industry.
In the 1990s, Secter's nephew Joel rented Getting Together, not knowing that his uncle had directed films. Seeing David's name in the credits, Joel contacted his uncle to talk about his film career. Those discussions ultimately led to Joel Secter's own debut as a filmmaker, the 2005 documentary The Best of Secter & the Rest of Secter. Notable figures who discussed Secter and Winter Kept Us Warm in the documentary included David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
, Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
, Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, Ed Mirvish
Ed Mirvish
Edwin “Honest Ed” Mirvish, OC, CBE was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario...
and Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
.
The film was released on DVD by TLA Video in early 2011.