First Winter

1982 0h 27m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 9

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A historical drama depicting an Irish immigrant family’s first winter in Canada, where isolation, illness, and an unforgiving landscape test their will to survive.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Kathleen McAuliffe
Mother
Sharon O’Neill
Daughter
Eric Patrick Godfrey
Son
Kevin Kennedy
Father

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John N. Smith
Writers: Cynthia Scott, Gloria Demers
Languages: English
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 27-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John N. Smith, shot by David De Volpi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Todd shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kathleen McAuliffe and Sharon O’Neill and Eric Patrick Godfrey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082383 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 9 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John N. Smith directs. David De Volpi behind the camera. Richard Todd cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 27-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
244 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by John N. Smith, shot by David De Volpi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Richard Todd shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kathleen McAuliffe and Sharon O’Neill and Eric Patrick Godfrey carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0082383 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 9 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: David De Volpi
Editing: Richard Todd
Runtime: 27 min · 0h 27m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: First Winter (1982)

Also by

John N. Smith

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-27
★ 6/10
This is quite a chilling short drama that follows a young Irish immigrant family as they struggle with their first winter in Canada. With her husband having to work elsewhere, it falls to a mother to keep her daughter and younger son from the bitterness of the climate. It’s a constant cycle of chopping wood and breaking the ice to provide water and that, in the face of the constantly sub-zero temperatures, ultimately takes it’s toll leaving the youngsters to fend for themselves. Can they survive the bleak conditions until their dad returns, though? It’s quite a touching story of survival against the elements with two young actors delivering quite poignantly as the older (Sharon O’Neill) has to keep her increasingly dejected sibling (Eric Patrick Godfrey) from simply giving up. It illustrates well the pioneering spirit, sustained by a little religious faith, that prevailed amongst families that left poverty behind only to find it followed them across the stormy seas, though at least here they had no exploitative landlords - just wolves and trees and ice.

Production companies