How To Be At Home

How To Be At Home

| 4 min

Lean into loneliness — and know you’re not alone in it. Filmmaker Andrea Dorfman reunites with poet Tanya Davis to craft tender and profound animation on the theme of isolation, providing a wise and soaringly lyrical sequel to their viral hit How to Be Alone.

Part of THE CURVE, a collection of social distancing stories that bring us together. Enjoy more works from this series here .

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How To Be At Home, Andrea Dorfman, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

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Credits
  • director
    Andrea Dorfman
  • animator
    Andrea Dorfman
  • editor
    Andrea Dorfman
  • poem writing
    Tanya Davis
  • poem performance
    Tanya Davis
  • producer
    Annette Clarke
  • original music
    Tanya Davis
    Daniel Ledwell
  • sound design
    Sacha Ratcliffe
  • music recording
    Daniel Ledwell
    Tanya Davis
  • online editor
    Yannick Carrier
  • re-recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • digital editing technician
    Pierre Dupont
    Marie-Josée Gourde
    Patrick Trahan
  • sound technician
    Bernard Belley
  • title design
    Jacques Bertrand Simard
  • production supervisor
    Roz Power
  • technical coordinator
    Daniel Lord
    Chris MacIntosh
  • senior production coordinator
    Kelly Davis
  • studio administrator
    Leslie Anne Poyntz
  • marketing manager
    Johanna Lessard
  • legal council
    Dominique Aubry
  • executive producer
    Annette Clarke
 See also
Psychology and Psychiatry
All subjects
Most-Viewed Films of 2020
Most-Viewed Films of 2021
All channels
Add a new comment
  • None

    Simply loved this

    None, 10 Jun 2022
  • Laurence

    Thank you for this. Beautiful. Moving. Human.

    Laurence, 7 Sep 2021
  • None

    this is wonderfully presented in word and song and graphics and imagery and..You are very talented artist(s).

    None, 5 Feb 2021
  • None

    What an amazing piece.I had a minor stroke caused by emotional trauma. This brings me to tears. Brilliant. Everything resonates. I've shared with everyone. Thank You, Thank You

    None, 19 Dec 2020
  • None

    This is a beautiful and encouraging piece! Thank you for sharing it with the world! I can watch it over and over, and probably will. Peace and joy to you.

    None, 14 Dec 2020
  • None

    This is a really lovely creation. I think it might be even more effective if the voice was a little louder and maybe read a little slower. But then I am 70.

    None, 2 Dec 2020
  • None

    I have watched this beautiful piece every day for about two weeks. So heart-wrenchingly moving. Thank you.

    None, 1 Dec 2020
  • None

    Bravo et merci à toute l'équipe pour ce petit film, très beau, touchant et pertinent. Andrea: un plaisir de te retrouver ici huit ans plus tard -- même douceur, même magie: merci! :-) mh papillon

    None, 28 Nov 2020
  • None

    To: None, 19 Oct 2020. Too bad you didn't watch this. It is actually ALL about strength, and yes we need that right now. What we DON'T need is people who judge WITHOUT actually experiencing what they're judging! And do it out loud in angry social media posts. Blessings!

    None, 26 Nov 2020
  • None

    This pulled tears from me in 3 separate places. Beautiful art allowing me to parse "I'm not alone" in a completely different way. I immediately forwarded this. Thank you. ❤️

    None, 16 Nov 2020
  • None

    Oh Andrea I absolutely related heavily to this beautiful poem- love the line if touch is the tether that holds us together- I'm such a people person and really have felt lonely and I love the fact we aren't alone we're in this together. Thank you so much I lived in Peterborough Ontario for nearly six years - so need to come back to visit when I can xxx

    None, 24 Oct 2020
  • None

    Beautiful, thoughtful, so thankful I had CBCs Q on at just the right time. Thank you for articulating what I have been feeling, too.

    None, 22 Oct 2020
  • Derek

    I got musty eyed hearing it on Q today, but I teared up watching it. I guess I haven't seen such honest beauty in awhile

    Derek, 21 Oct 2020
  • None

    Brilliant, wonderful, creative... thank you

    None, 21 Oct 2020
  • Chuck in Vancouver

    This is a perfect little gem of a film. Thank you so much for it. Kudos to the director and the poet and the composer!

    Chuck in Vancouver, 21 Oct 2020
  • None

    The first line is, "If you are at first really f---ing anxious, just wait...". I don't enjoy people who lack vocabulary and have no empathy with them. I will not be watching this because the first line is inappropriate and I find it offensive. I read the comments here, starkly opposite to mine and I think perhaps a lot of people are hard of hearing???? The gist I get from this is that it's another "we're in this together" scenario - in other words, get in line. Give your heads a shake NFB, (National Film Board), with an introduction like this, it is not about strength and at times like this that is what is needed.

    None, 19 Oct 2020
  • CD

    My heart swelled and burst. Thank you for this beautiful meditation.

    CD, 7 Oct 2020
  • SN

    Gorgeous and powerful. Thank-you!

    SN, 7 Oct 2020
  • None

    Wonderful!

    None, 6 Oct 2020
  • None

    utterly delightful, moving, beautiful

    None, 3 Oct 2020
  • None

    Absolutely lovely and inspiring! Thank you Andrea and Tanya.

    None, 30 Sep 2020
  • None

    Lovely! A quiet rap about optimism. Thank you Andrea and Tanya.

    None, 23 Sep 2020
  • CTC

    Thank you Andrea and Tanya yet again for a thoughtful BEAUTIFUL film!

    CTC, 23 Sep 2020

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