Winter Kept Us Warm

By: Lawrence Ferber
In-House Review - Apr 11 2011

A gay cinema landmark, Winter Kept Us Warm was based upon its 22-year-old writer/director David Secter's experiences as a college student in love with his roommate. Shot in black and white and on film, this pre-Stonewall film stands as a gay positive film before the word "gay" was even being used.
A timid University of Toronto freshman, Peter, forms an unlikely friendship with a gregarious senior student, Doug. Doug is a popular guy with a popular girlfriend, while Peter is a shy young man new to the city and its ways. The friendship grows into constant camaraderie, and it eventually becomes clear ? during a pivotal shower scene ? that there may be something more than platonic going on... at least for one of them. Besides being the first Canadian film to touch on homosexuality, Winter Kept Us Warm was also the first English-language Canadian film to be accepted at the Cannes Film Festival. It made a splash at Cannes and it's really a piece of cinematic history, and we're proud (and excited) to reintroduce this nearly-forgotten gem on DVD. Check out this great article with a filmmaker interview and video!

By: Amos Lassen

"Winter Kept Us Warm"
A Student Film
Amos Lassen

There are certainly many student films made each year but few of them are regarded as important. "Winter Kept Us Warm" is the first film from Canada that was invited to the Cannes Film Festival. It is also important as it is an early film (1965) that deals with the topic of homosexuality. , David Secter's first feature broke ground in terms of independent filmmaking--its story of a close (but not quite too close) friendship between two college boys is circumspect even for the times, although when one ditches his girlfriend to take the other to a Harry Belafonte show, the codes aren't too hard to understand. Filmed in black and white, it has the feel of an intimate look at life.
It's the 1960's at the University of Toronto and Doug is a well-liked senior with a popular girlfriend. Peter is a shy freshman new to the big city. Peter and Doug become best friends and soon go to concerts, out for drinks and they play in the snow together. When Doug brings Peter to a steam bath and washes his back, the friendship seems to head to a new level (in Doug's mind, at least). However....
This film was shot at Sir Daniel Wilson Residence at the University of Toronto with a cast of amateur actors. Some of what was sensational in 1965 looks quite mild today but it is an important film in terms of where gay films are today. It is amateur but we must consider when it was made, I feel it should be a part of every gay movie collector's library but we must remember that it is over forty years old.