From Catholic nun to NDP Leader: New documentary puts spotlight on Newfoundland’s Lorraine Michael

David Gosine talks about the family-produced documentary on the accomplishments of former Newfoundland politician Lorraine Michael.

A new documentary is putting Lorraine Michael in the spotlight.

‘Lorraine’ tells the story of Michael’s real-life journey: from her Lebanese roots and childhood in an immigrant community to her life as a Catholic nun and eventually becoming Newfoundland and Labrador’s NDP Leader. The documentary was co-produced and co-directed by Michael’s cousin David Gosine.

“She’s just lived this incredible legacy,” Gosine said. “I didn’t know a lot about that story.”

The 15-minute documentary was filmed at Gosine’s parents’ house in St. Philips, N.L.

“We flew in, and we sat with Lorraine at my parents’ kitchen table and we listened to her legacy, to her years from basically her childhood until today, the legacy that she lived, the social justice that she impacted and her real impact on not only the lives of Newfoundland and Labradorians, but Canadians as a whole,” he said.

To this day, Michael continues her advocacy work and remains on a mission to build a more inclusive Canada. Gosine said it’s an important story to tell.

“In this moment, more than ever, we have to really hold tight with social justice and understand that the stories of these folks who have already gone down these roads and trodden these paths to build equitable spaces for people that are struggling or are minorities is so important when there’s so much noise to the contrary,” he said.

The piece was filmed over the course of 16 hours but was edited in the following months. Gosine said he learned a lot through the process.

“I got to know a story of somebody who impacted my life a lot. I learnt that equity is not as straight forward as anyone thinks. I learnt that it’s a beautiful thing to tell a story that is so profound.”

Putting the documentary together was a family affair. Gosine’s and Michael’s connection other cousin, Allison Basha was his co-producer and co-director.

“When my cousin and I came to this realization that we wanted to produce a documentary, it was a very easy decision to choose Lorraine. She’s just lived a tremendous life.”

He said he hopes people take away a simple message from the documentary: every little thing counts.

“Every little thing in the road of making space for those who don’t have space counts, and her story is just so inspiring for any generation to understand that the little things matter and the big things really will come,” said Gosine.

The film will be featured next at the Lebanese Film Festival in Montreal on Tuesday. Gosine hopes to see it get picked up at festivals in Atlantic Canada as well.

‘Lorraine’ has already won a series of awards and has been selected to be featured at several festivals around the world.