Tuesday , March 26 2024

Nollywood! The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, A Romantic Comedy that has Taken Cinema Audience by Storm

If you still disdain the Nollywood industry, then watch The Royal Hibiscus to observe and appreciate how players in this industry have stepped up their game to the amazement of the audience. Most cinema movies give Nollywood an impressive global image but you won’t know this if you are stuck with the movies carried on wheel barrows along the streets or sold in shabby stores in very local markets. For a start, watch The Royal Hibiscus Hotel to see the real side of Nollywood.

Do you know that the 60-second video teaser of The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, a movie from EbonyLife Films, was revealed on Instagram and it received over 100,000 views in only 24 hours. Such was the interest that the full trailer of 3 minutes and 40 seconds was eventually released.

Here is the trailer for your enjoyment:

The charming romantic comedy, was screened for the very first time at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2017. It is the only Nigerian movie and one of just three African features in the Contemporary World Cinema category, which spotlights forty-eight of the best new films worldwide.

Set in Lagos and London, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel tells the story of a passionate Nigerian chef, ‘Ope’, trying to follow her dream of opening a restaurant in London. Frustrated by her lack of progress, she returns to Nigeria and discovers that going home can have unexpected rewards. This is director Ishaya Bako’s second feature, following his debut, The Road to Yesterday. The cast includes Zainab Balogun, Kenneth Okolie, Deyemi Okanlawon and O.C. Ukeje, with veteran actors Rachel Oniga, Jide Kosoko, Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva, many of whom are expected to join the director in Toronto for the screening.

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Mo Abudu, Executive Producer, is thrilled about the upcoming premiere. “The Royal Hibiscus Hotel has been a passion project for me – the chance to tell an intimate story that has heart and soul, and explores romantic love in the older and younger generations. The film addresses some of the challenges around communication in relationships, while managing to be funny, warm and entertaining. Many of us have forgotten what it feels like to fall in love – I hope The Royal Hibiscus Hotel re-ignites this feeling in us all,” she said.

Receiving such a significant accolade is important because it identifies the movie as a quality title. It is the second time an EbonyLife film has been chosen for TIFF, the world’s most important publicly attended film festival. The first was for the blockbuster, The Wedding Party, which went on to become the highest-grossing Nigerian movie of all time.

The TIFF premiere of The Royal Hibiscus Hotel is good news for filmmakers in Nigeria and the continent – and provides further confirmation that positive African stories are attaining global recognition, which is indicative of improved scripting and higher production values.

The 2017 edition of The Toronto International Film Festival took place from September 7-17. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel was released in February 2018.

Source:

mediaroomhub

About Chinenye Nwabueze

Nwabueze is a writer with passion for cutting-edge news

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