A made-in-Nova Scotia film, based on a true story, is having success in theatres that’s ‘normally not heard of.’
Little Lorraine hit the big screen early April, and demand from people eager to see it has forced Cineplex to add more showings across Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario.
“For a movie that opened up five weeks ago, starting that movie in other cities is normally not heard of, so that just tells you how successful it’s been,” says Chauntel Ormandy, Cineplex’s executive director of Atlantic Canada operations.
“I think there’s a lot of hometown feelings about the movie and people remember the story,” she says. “There’s really some connections and they were in and out filming for five weeks, and people are still coming into Cape Breton seeing it like 2 or 3 times.”
That’s a feat that is hard to accomplish for a local production, competing on the big stage, especially in the digital streaming era.
“It’s really challenging for Canadian films, generally, to have a really successful theatrical release in Canada,” says Lisa Haller, the director of programming for the Atlantic International Film Festival, which had two sellout showings of their own back in September.
“There is a lot of competition,” she says. “It proves that a film like this really is resonating with audiences and making that impact, and people are excited to see films from home.”
Director and co-writer Andy Hines, who hails from Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, says the support has made all the difference.
“That’s what means the most to me,” he says. “The people are bringing this film back week after week in theaters across Canada.”
“That is usually reserved for Hollywood films and films with big budgets and big ideas.”
The longtime music video director, who has worked with some of the world’s biggest names, took inspiration from Adam Baldwin’s song ‘Lighthouse in Little Lorraine.’
“I felt very connected to the kind of storytelling that that song was doing, and I felt like I could certainly attempt to do it justice in a feature setting,” he says.
“That story is stranger than anything that someone could make up,” Hines says. “A group of good men fell on hard times and got involved with some smuggling of illicit drugs from a different country.”
Hines describes the journey the film has taken him on as a “wild ride.”
“This experience that I’m in right now with little Lorraine coming out into the public sphere and being seen even in my local theater where my parents live down the Valley, it means the world to me.”
For people who saw the movie on Thursday evening, there were emotional and rave reviews.
“It’s a very serious movie, it’s a heartbreaking movie and it affected me right here,” said one man, pointing to his heart.
“We went as a foursome and couldn’t get four seats,” said another movie-goer. “We had to split up two and two. The place was packed.”
“It’s wonderful and, yes, local,” she said. “Perfect.”
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
