Little Lorraine is a 2025 Canadian crime drama film, directed by Andy Hines.Kim Izzo, "Little Lorraine crime film wraps in Nova Scotia, Ontario". Playback, August 26, 2024. Hines's debut feature following a career directing music videos, the film centres on the story of the small town of Little Lorraine, Nova Scotia, a small seaside fishing village which became embroiled in an international cocaine smuggling ring in the 1980s."Nova Scotia's Andy Hines lands J Balvin for film adaptation of his own music video". CBC News Nova Scotia, August 24, 2024.
The song changed the location from Louisburg to the nearby town Little Lorraine, and the drugs being smuggled from hashish to cocaine for rhyming purposes. “How a $500M Cape Breton drug bust helped inspire the film Little Lorraine”. CBC News Nova Scotia, May 10, 2026.
The film stars Stephen Amell, Sean Astin and J Balvin in his acting debut,Jon Blistein, "J Balvin to Make Acting Debut in Crime Drama About a Fishing Village-Turned-Smuggling Hub". Rolling Stone, August 23, 2024. as well as Matt Walsh, Rhys Darby, Stephen McHattie, Steve Lund, Sugar Lyn Beard, Hugh Thompson, Mike Dopud, Kaelen Ohm, Joshua Close, Auden Thornton, Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz, Mark A. Owen, Dax Ravina, Luis Javier and David Mortimer in supporting roles.
Production Singer-songwriter Adam Baldwin previously wrote about the story in his 2022 single "Lighthouse in Little Lorraine". Hines directed that song's video, and subsequently used it as his proof of concept to shop the film version around to film studios.
The film was shot in Nova Scotia and Ontario in summer 2024.
Distribution The film premiered in the Discovery program at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025.John Hazelton, "Toronto film festival unveils Discovery selection with 23 world premieres". Screen Daily, July 23, 2025. It was also screened as the Atlantic Gala at the 2025 Atlantic International Film Festival.Kelly Townsend, "AIFF unveils four Atlantic features as world premieres for 45th festival". Playback, July 23, 2025.
Reception Critical response
For That Shelf, Courtney Small wrote that "despite the rocky road to its climax, Hines constructs a thrilling crime drama that is elevated by McHattie’s sensational turn. As the manipulative Huey, a man who attempts to keep everyone under his corrupt thumb, McHattie delivers a riveting and menacing performance. His turn is nicely accentuated by Amell’s strong work as the everyman who finds himself inadvertently stepping into a narcotic quicksand. Bringing resonating layers to a role that could have easily been one-note in a lesser actor’s hands, Amell gives the film its resonating core."Courtney Small, "Little Lorraine Review: TIFF 2025". That Shelf, September 5, 2025.
Awards At AIFF, McHattie won the Joan Orenstein and David Renton award for Best Performance, and Hines and Baldwin won the award for Best Atlantic Screenplay.Andrew Tracy, "Sk+te’kmujue’katik, Little Lorraine top award winners at AIFF". Playback, September 15, 2025.
The film was longlisted for the 2025 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award.Connie Thiessen, "DGC unveils 2025 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award long list". Broadcast Dialogue, September 18, 2025.
It also screened in the Borsos Competition program at the 2025 Whistler Film Festival.Andrew Tracy, "Youngblood, Akashi among Whistler’s Borsos Award nominees". Playback, October 28, 2025.
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