''The Offering'' is a Canadian romantic drama film, directed by

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 ...

and released in 1966.David Secter, "Director's postscript on The Offering". ''

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 ...

'', November 26, 1966. One of the first Canadian films ever to depict an interracial relationship, the film portrays a romance between Mei-Lin (Kee Faun), a dancer with a touring

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

company, and Gordon (Ratch Wallace), a

stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General S ...

at the theatre in

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 ...

where the troupe is performing.Martin Knelman, "He shoots The Offering in July". ''

'', May 19, 1966.

Philip Givens Philip Gerald Givens, (April 24, 1922 – November 30, 1995) was a Canadian politician and judge. He was the Mayor of Toronto, a Member of Parliament (MP) and Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). He was born and raised in Toronto and at ...

, the real-life mayor of Toronto at the time the film was made, appears in the film as himself; the cast also includes Ellen Yamasaki and

Marvin Goldhar Marvin Goldhar (April 29, 1933 – March 31, 2002) was a Canadian actor, best known for his voice work in animated programs and in made-for-TV movies. Among his voice credits include Cedric Sneer on ''The Raccoons'', Mr. Weatherbee on ''The ...

. The film was shot in part at Toronto's

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

. The film was more poorly received than Secter's 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 ...

'',Joan Fox, "Secter's latest offering contrived". ''

'', November 25, 1966. and because Secter had largely worked with non-union crew, the

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, known as simply the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE or ...

intervened to prevent the film from being screened theatrically anywhere outside of Toronto."Stagehands' union tells Secter 'you talk too much'". ''

'', December 1, 1966. Soon after the film's release, Secter abandoned most of his new projects and moved to

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 joined a bohemian artists' commune and worked as a theatre director, and did not direct another film until the low-budget sex comedy ''

Getting Together ''Getting Together'' is an American musical sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1971–72 U.S. television season. It starred Bobby Sherman and Wes Stern as Bobby Conway and Lionel Poindexter, a songwriting duo. The pilot for the series had aired ...

'' in 1976.

References

External links

* 1966 films 1966 drama films Canadian romantic drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by David Secter Films shot in Toronto 1960s English-language films 1960s Canadian films {{1960s-Canada-film-stub