Discover Hairy Legs: Andrea Dorfman’s warm and witty animated short now streaming free on NFB platforms

November 10, 2025 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Fresh from a celebrated festival tour with awards from Montreal to L.A., Andrea Dorfman’s National Film Board of Canada (NFB) animated short Hairy Legs is streaming free across NFB platforms in Canada and the U.S. as of today, November 10.

This stop-motion and hand-painted short delivers a hilarious, heartwarming tale of girlhood from the Emmy-nominated filmmaker. Hairy Legs delightfully documents a 13-year-old girl’s small yet life-changing act of rebellion on the road to womanhood and feminism.

About the film

Hairy Legs by Andrea Dorfman (16 min 56 s)
Produced by Liz Cowie and Rohan Fernando for the NFB
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/hairy-legs

• Deciding not to shave her legs as a girl led the Halifax filmmaker to question and ultimately defy society’s expectations.
• With charm, warmth and humour, Hairy Legs captures the universality of girls exploring gender, curiosity and freedom as they evolve from spending exuberant, carefree days on their bicycles to facing and defying stereotypes.
• Through endearing articulated 2D puppets combined with stop-motion and hand-painted animation, Dorfman depicts her own personal journey towards self-expression, non-conformity, kindness and acceptance.

Selected awards and festivals

• Guy L. Coté Grand Prize for Best Animated Film, Sommets du cinéma d'animation, Montreal (2025)
• Best of Annecy, in partnership with Women in Animation (WIA), Animation Is Film Festival, Los Angeles (2025)
• Diversity Award, SPARK Animation Festival, Vancouver (2024)
• Honourable Mention – DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation, Ottawa International Animation Festival (2024)
• Official Selection – Short Films in Official Competition, Annecy International Animation Film Festival (2025)
• Official Selection, DOC NYC, New York City (2024)
• Official Selection, Anima, the Brussels International Animation Film Festival (2025)

About Andrea Dorfman

Halifax filmmaker Andrea Dorfman has written and directed many award-winning documentaries, features and animated films, including the Emmy-nominated Flawed (2010), Big Mouth (2012) and feature doc The Girls of Meru (2018). Dorfman’s video collaborations with poet-musician Tanya Davis, How to Be Alone (2010) and How to Be at Home (2020), became YouTube sensations.

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