Andrea Dorfman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrea Dorfman
Dorfman at IFFI 2014
Born	(1968-10-29) October 29, 1968 (age 56) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Screenwriter, film director

Andrea Dorfman (born October 29, 1968) is a Canadian filmmaker. She writes and directs films from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Andrea is known for her award-winning films like Flawed (2010) and Big Mouth (2012).

She also helped create a project called Blowhard. Andrea mostly makes short films and longer movies. She also creates mini-documentaries for The Equality Effect, a group that works for human rights. She is currently working on a film called The Playground with Jennifer Deyell.

Andrea lives in Halifax with her boyfriend, his children, two cats, and a dog. She has been making creative and story-based films since 1995. Sometimes, she teaches classes at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Early Life and Filmmaking Dreams

Andrea Dorfman was born in Toronto, Ontario, on October 29, 1968. She discovered her love for making films when she was 12 years old. This happened after her father gave her a camera.

She later studied at McGill University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Andrea Dorfman's Film Career

Andrea's early short films, Swerve (1998) and Nine (1998), won her an award. She was named the Most Promising New Director at the 1998 Atlantic Film Festival.

First Feature Film: Parsley Days

Her first full-length movie, Parsley Days (2000), was first shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. She made the film in just eleven days with a budget of about $65,000. The movie was filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Andrea found local actors and musicians from Halifax to help with the film. She was the writer, producer, director, and even the camera person for the movie. She used a hand-held camera to film it. Parsley Days got good reviews and helped her get a deal with a film company.

More Films and Animation

Her second feature film was Love that Boy (2003). It starred Nadia Litz as a busy university student. The film also featured Elliot Page in a small part. It was first shown at the 2003 Atlantic Film Festival.

In 2005, Andrea made the short film There's a Flower in My Pedal. This film was a runner-up for best short film at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2008, Dorfman created Art, a short animated film. It was made for a song by Tanya Davis. She also filmed Lost and Found (2008). This film was about a Halifax artist named Jane Kansas and her knowledge of Harper Lee. Harper Lee wrote the famous book To Kill a Mockingbird.

Viral Success with How to Be Alone

In 2009, Andrea received a grant to make an animated short film. It was based on a poem by Tanya Davis called How to Be Alone. In 2010, Andrea put this film on YouTube. It quickly became very popular, getting over a million views in just a few months. Famous film critic Roger Ebert and The Atlantic magazine praised it.

She also made an animated film for the NYC Bicycle Film Festival called Thoughts on My Bike (2009).

In 2020, Andrea created a follow-up film called How to Be At Home. This film was also based on a poem by Tanya Davis. It was about how to deal with feeling alone during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This film was chosen as one of Canada's Top Ten films of 2020 by the Toronto International Film Festival.

Animated Documentaries and Human Rights

Andrea continued to explore animation with Flawed (2010). This was a short animated documentary. It combined stop-motion animation with hand-painted pictures. Flawed was made in Halifax by Annette Clarke for the National Film Board of Canada. Andrea then made more short films and animations using colorful, often 2D, watercolor images.

In 2010, she started making films for The Equality Effect. This is a group that works for human rights. She began with two short animated public service announcements (PSAs). They were called 160 Girls (2010) and The Equality Effect (2010). These films raised awareness about challenges faced by girls in Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana.

Working in Newfoundland and Other Projects

Later, she worked on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, for the first time. There, she filmed Tilting Quilting (2010). This film was about the beautiful quilts made by the people of Tilting, Fogo Island. In 2010, she also created a short 2D animation called Summer Stairs. It went along with a song her boyfriend wrote for her. Her last film that year was another short animation called The Drums. It was based on a song of the same name by Tanya Davis.

In 2012, she continued her work with The Art of Equality (2012). She also released Big Mouth (2012). This was an animated film made using 2D puppet stop motion. The National Film Board of Canada produced and shared it.

In 2013, she created the short animation Eulogy for You and Me (2013).

Return to Feature Films

In 2014, Andrea Dorfman went back to making full-length movies with Heartbeat. This film was about a young woman who was afraid to become a musician. The movie starred musician Tanya Davis. It was first shown at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It also played at the Atlantic Film Festival.

In 2018, she announced she was working on a film called Spinster. It starred Chelsea Peretti. The movie was about a woman who thought she would be single forever after her 39th birthday.

Andrea Dorfman is currently working on a film called The Playground with Jennifer Deyell. She has made many important contributions to the Canadian film industry, especially with her animation work.

How Andrea Dorfman Works

Andrea used to help pay for her films by working as a camera assistant. She also worked as a cinematographer on other people's films and music videos.

She is known for trying new and creative things with animation.

Filmography