''The Best of Secter and the Rest of Secter'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by

Joel Secter Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

and released in 2005.Martin Knelman, "U of T star is born, lands in porn; '60s filmmaker went to Cannes, met Loren, . ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', May 18, 2005. The film centres on Joel Secter's uncle, filmmaker

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. Geoff Pevere"David Secter, the Varsity visionary: How a low-budget st ...

, particularly but not exclusively on the impact of his 1965 film ''

Winter Kept Us Warm ''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 ...

''. Michael Posner, "The first Canadian at Cannes". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', May 21, 2005. The film has its roots in the 1990s, when Joel Secter, who had not been in close contact with his uncle in many years and did not know that his uncle had directed films at all, unwittingly rented his uncle's 1976 sex comedy film '' Getting Together'' from a video store. Himself an aspiring filmmaker, he contacted his uncle, and the two collaborated as producers on the 1999 sex comedy film ''Cyberdorm'', although the film was not successful. With even Secter's historically significant ''Winter Kept Us Warm'' nearly forgotten by the early 2000s, the two then collaborated on the documentary film, which explored both Secter's early success and his subsequent decision to join a bohemian artists' commune in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he virtually abandoned filmmaking. In his book ''Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas'', Thomas Waugh wrote that the film "fills in the gaps in the subsequent career of a cinematic and sexual rebel whose artistic promise was not to be fully realized." Thomas Waugh, ''Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas''. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006. . p. 506. Notable figures who discussed Secter and ''Winter Kept Us Warm'' in the documentary included

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

, Michael Ondaatje,

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, Ed Mirvish,

Joy Fielding Joy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) 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 Li ...

and

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

. The film premiered at the National Screen Institute's FilmExchange festival in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

in March 2005, and received its first widespread coverage when it screened at the

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in May. The film won the award for Best Documentary Film at the 2005 Whistler Film Festival.Nicole Fitzgerald
"More than just films"
''

Pique Newsmagazine ''Pique Newsmagazine'' is the only newspaper serving the resort community of Whistler, British Columbia. It was founded in 1994 and operated as an independent, locally owned weekly newspaper until July 2013, when it was purchased by Glacier Media ...

'', December 9, 2005.

References

External links

* 2005 films 2005 documentary films 2005 LGBT-related films Documentary films about gay men Documentary films about film directors and producers 2000s English-language films HIV/AIDS in Canadian films 2000s Canadian films Canadian LGBT-related documentary films {{LGBT-documentary-film-stub