Wintercourse

"Discovered in summer of 1985, of a set of 'haiku-imagistic films' I did before coming to my characteristic style, as in Ray Gun Virus; I thought I’d destroyed all these pre-pure films, in about 1969-1970, the time of my separation from my first marriage. The film concerns my marriage, which lasted seven years; it was shot during its first year, when I was a painting student at the University of Denver. It is full of apprehensions, in a montage style which counterposes “opposites”: sexuality and religion; seasonal opposites; hopefulness undercut by fears of eventual separation (the image of a statue of two women, arm in arm, reading a book). I find it visually and kinetically interesting, after all these years" (Paul Sharits/ Canyon Cinema).
----
"Embedded above is the earliest surviving work by Paul Sharits, Wintercourse, which was produced in 1962. While Sharits would go on to become one of the pioneers of the structuralist movement, Wintercourse is a more playful, seemingly less structured film than the ones he would become most well-known for, such as T, O, U, C, H, I, N, G, (1968) and N.O.T.H.I.N.G. (1968). Wintercourse was shot in B&W in 16mm and is silent. Warning: There are brief flashes of non-sexual nudity in the film, so while it’s not quite Nsfw, be considerate if you are indeed at work planning to watch this.

I also can’t find any writing about the film online, but I’m thinking the film is possibly heavily inspired by Stan Brakhage’s Wedlock House: An Intercourse (1959). According to Sharits’ biography, he began a mentorship and friendship with Brakhage around this" (everleth).