Heartbeat

Directed by Andrea Dorfman

Canada, 2014 (fiction, 93 minutes, colour, English)

Image: © Mongrel Media

Film Description:
"Stuck in a go-nowhere job and a DOA personal life, a discombobulated twentysomething (singer-songwriter Tanya Davis) finds salvation by returning to her musical roots in this vibrant comedy-drama."
-- WorldCat (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Andrea Dorfman
Produced by:	Jay Dahl, Bill Niven
Principal Cast:	Tanya Davis, Stephanie Clattenburg, Kristin Langille, Glen Matthews, Jackie Torrens, Stewart Legere, Jim Henman, Naomi Blackhall-Butler, Rich Aucoin, Stephanie Johns, Andrea Dymond
Cinematography:	Stéphanie Anne Weber Biron
Film Editing:	Thorben Bieger
Production Company:	Northeast Films

(sources)

Notes about Heartbeat

Filmed in Halifax.
Shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.

(sources)

Quotes about Heartbeat

"I think the overlying message [of Heartbeat] is to face yourself and see what it is that you want and not what it is that society tells you that you want. Recognize that life is short and if you have the privilege to find things that make you happy, that's amazing."
-- Tanya Davis (source)

"Andrea Dorfman's third feature film is an unabashed love letter to Halifax, the city that the Toronto-born filmmaker has called home for much of her adult life. But Heartbeat is quite a bit more ambitious than that. Though the low-budget film may seem like a standard if somewhat unconventional take on love, the film is actually about the need to love yourself by having the courage to embrace your aspirations."
-- Bruce DeMara (source)

"In a small film like Heartbeat, a production designer becomes the whole art department, though I did work very closely with the director Andrea Dorfman, who has a strong sense of style herself. But basically we [production designers] take care of the look of the film. For example, we accentuate the characters' personalities through textures and colours. We had a theme running through Heartbeat. We started off with a blue, when the main character is fighting herself. As she finds herself she gets brighter, right up to the reds. She's becoming more herself, which is vibrant and outgoing."
-- Kevin Lewis (source)

"Real-life singer-songwriter [Tanya] Davis feels emotionally genuine and entirely atypical for a female lead. With her short hair and slight overbite, Davis's screen presence straddles the distance between urban hipster and furry woodland creature—in a good way. Much like the film itself [Heartbeat], the actress wears her heart on her sleeve then wipes her runny nose on it, offering the viewer all the human poetry of heartache, and all the goofy comedy of getting over it."
-- Katherine Monk (source)

"[Heartbeat is] a lovely effort from the Haligonian director Andrea Dorfman—hers is an offbeat, human story that addresses personal risks and life decisions."
-- Brad Wheeler (source)

Bibliography for Heartbeat

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

DeMara, Bruce. "Halifax and cast shine in Heartbeat." Review of Heartbeat. Toronto Star, November 28, 2014.
DeMara, Bruce. "Halifax film shoot was a 'real love-in,' director recalls; East Coast director drew on talent from adopted hometown for Heartbeat." Interview with Andrea Dorfman, Tanya Davis. Toronto Star, November 28, 2014.
Halifax Chronicle-Herald. "Vital force: Heartbeat pulses with life; Dorfman film starring Davis opens Friday, offering tale of love, change and music." Interview with Andrea Dorfman. Halifax Chronicle-Herald, November 20, 2014.
Monk, Katherine. "Twee and sympathy in thrift-store clothes; The human poetry of heartache, and the goofy comedy of getting over it." Review of Heartbeat. Ottawa Citizen, December 12, 2014.
Wheeler, Brad. "Behind the scenes of Halifax-based indie film Heartbeat; Production designer Kevin Lewis talks about Heartbeat's look, and Halifax's breakthrough performance." Interview with Kevin Lewis. Globe and Mail, November 27, 2014.
Wheeler, Brad. "The caged heart breaks out." Review of Heartbeat. Globe and Mail, November 28, 2014.
Wheeler, Brad. "Director invites you—and only you." Interview with Andrea Dorfman. Globe and Mail, September 6, 2014.

Web Sites about Heartbeat

"IMDb: Heartbeat." Internet Movie Database, Inc. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3275082/combined.