The Project
We're making a feature-length documentary film about poverty and homelessness in Peterborough, Ontario - a community which has had, since the 2008 recession, one of the highest rates of unemployment in Canada. We're focusing on four people from the Warming Room, a homeless shelter of last resort that runs every night from 8:30pm till 8am, during the cold winter months. The Warming Room has literally saved lives, but like similar initiatives, it's been plagued from the start by a lack of funding. It serves an essential need in Peterborough, and is our window onto the ways in which people push back against the invisible world of homelessness in Canada.
We've been working on this film for almost two years, and are halfway through shooting, which only began several months ago. We documented the end of the last Warming Room season, and will be following our subjects through the summer and fall, leading up to the reopening of the shelter. Our commitment to privacy and safety is the reason we won't be shooting in the Warming Room itself, and instead will be focusing on what happens when the shelter's guests don't have the fallback of spending the night at the shelter. The film will follow them against the backdrop of the ticking clock, the coming winter, and the hope for housing and better fortunes.
We plan to release this film through the film festival circuit in Canada and beyond, and hope for a hometown premiere at the ReFrame Film Festival. We also plan to give this film to local organizations to be used as a educational tool, as an opportunity to not just tell, but show what poverty and homelessness in Peterborough looks like.
Who's Involved?
There are some key people working on and featuring in this film. Here they are:
Chad
![]()
A previous guest of the Warming Room, Chad is a bright spark. He's always on the move and never lacks for interesting conversation. He lost quite a few years to heavy drug addiction, but he's recovering and is currently attending PACE to get his high school diploma. He plans to go into culinary at Fleming when he finishes, and he loves spending time with his three-year old son.
Andrew
![]()
A staff member at the Warming Room. Andrew's been there from the start, when the shelter opened three years ago, and so he's seen it through all its highs and lows. He's a graduate of Fleming College's social services program, and has made his work with the guests at the Warming Room his passion and career. We'll follow Andrew as he deals with his own economic troubles, trying to balance his obligations and keep alive his dedication to helping others.
Kelly
![]()
A former guest of the Warming Room, Kelly is now housed, but precariously. She is trying to get out of her current residence and into something more secure and healthy. She's lived and taught abroad, and has mentored a generation of poor and marginalized youth in Peterborough. The highlight of her day is passing by the daycare on her street, when she can say hello to all the children.
Brian
![]()
A guest of the Warming Room, Brian struggles with chronic illness. He's unable to lie down to sleep and so spends the night sitting and leaning on a table. He's an incredible musician, and used to tour with bands throughout the country. He has a quick wit and uses it to stay positive in a situation others would find desperate.
Matthew
![]()
The director and cinematographer of the film. Matthew is both an independent filmmaker and PhD student in Canadian Studies at Trent University. He's made Peterborough his home with his wife and two kids, and sees this film as his way of helping to eradicate poverty in our community. Two of his previous short films have focused on Peterborough: Tilco Striker and The Masjid, both of which can be found here.
Jon
![]()
A producer of the film. Jon is a professional spoken word poet who has performed across Canada and an organizer and educator with the Peterborough Poetry Slam Collective. By day, he works as a job developer and an employment counsellor advocating for unemployed, under-employed and marginalized workers in the community. He lives in Peterborough with his wife and daughter and spends as much time as he can wandering aimlessly with them through the woods.
Diane
![]()
One of Peterborough City's Town Ward councillors, and a producer of the film, Diane moved to Peterborough to pursue her Master's studies at Trent. She instantly fell in love with the city and sense of community. Currently, Diane is the Facilitator of Community Education and Engagement for the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network, where she is drafting a strategic plan for poverty reduction in Peterborough city and county.
The Impact
Your contributions will go toward some very necessary and hard costs.
- In order to respect the time and effort of the film's subjects, we've made it a priority to financially remunerate those appearing in the film. We feel this is an important obligation to fulfill, and properly acknowledges our debt to our subjects. Part of our budget will go to paying our subjects for their time.
- We're also using this campaign as a fundraiser for the Warming Room itself. In addition to funding the film project, your contributions will go toward a donation to the Warming Room, to assist with its annual operating budget. Part of our budget will go toward a donation to the Warming Room.
- We have a number of production costs we need to cover in order to finish the film. We need to hire an editor to help us wade through the hours and hours of footage shot. We hope to hire an aerial cinematographer to get some additional footage of the city. We have some equipment rental costs, like extra camera and sound gear. Part of our budget will go toward hard production costs.
- We will also run into later stage post-production costs, such as submission and formatting fees for film festivals, and composition/music rights. Part of our budget will go toward post-production costs.
We plan to release this film through the film festival circuit in Canada and beyond, and hope for a hometown premiere at the ReFrame Film Festival. We will be recognizing financial contributors in the films credits. Owing to our partnership with the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network (PPRN), we are able to issue charitable tax receipts. Working with the PPRN we plan to give this film to local organizations to be used as an educational tool, as an opportunity to not just tell, but show what poverty and homelessness in Peterborough looks like as a way of furthering discussion about this important issue.
Risks & Challenges
We've faced significant challenges so far. Matthew and Jon worked for a full year before the camera actually came out of the bag to shoot this film. The year was full of meetings and meetings and meetings with people and organizations across Peterborough. The overriding goal of the project has been to protect the privacy of everyone involved, and so we've been extremely careful to work in collaboration with everyone who's come on board, to ensure that those in the film are fully aware of the project's intentions, and where it might go.
The good news is that production on the film is well underway, and we're starting to accumulate hours of footage to work with. The ball is rolling, and we're looking for your support to help get us across the finish line. We sincerely believe this film can help make a difference in the local Peterborough community, and add to the discussion on a national level too.
Other Ways You Can Help
We know everyone can't contribute directly to the campaign, and we respect that! But, even if you can't, there are other ways to help: please help us get the word out about the project. Tweet it, Facebook it, Instagram it, whatever social media you have, please pass it on. Or, send the link to the campaign to your friends and family through a personal email, which always works best!