Winter Kept Us Warm

The indie film Winter Kept Us Warm may have been the first English-language Canadian film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, but it has remained in relative obscurity for many years. The film follows Doug (John Labow), a popular senior at the University of Toronto who takes shy freshman Peter (Henry Tarvainen) under his wing. Both have girlfriends, but as their friendship grows, Doug begins to develop especially strong feelings for Peter. Director David Secter had to keep the relationship at the center of the film ambiguous due to the era in which it was made, but when viewed today the tension is undeniable. A groundbreaking film in the development of Canadian cinema, Winter Kept Us Warm paved the way for other Canadian queer filmmakers such as John Greyson, Bruce LaBruce, and Patricia Rozema. Introduced by David Marriott, cofounder of Arbelos Films and Canadian International Pictures. (81 mins., 4K DCP)

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Winter Kept Us Warm, courtesy of Canadian International Pictures.