EbonyLife’s “The Royal Hibiscus Hotel” Will Premiere In Toronto

Passion can take you far, but love will bring you home.

The Royal Hibiscus Hotel is a romantic comedy from EbonyLife Films about a Nigerian couple who run a charming, but run-down, boutique hotel in a little town in Nigeria. In desperation, husband Segun decides to sell the hotel without his wife’s knowledge, as a way of settling all their debts. Their daughter is living in London, working a dead-end job while trying to open her own restaurant. When she decides to return to Nigeria for a vacation, Mom and Dad are elated for different reasons. Dad wants her to sign the papers to sell the hotel she is destined to inherit, while Mom can’t wait to marry her off to a charming property developer, Deji. When daughter Opeoluwa meets Deji by accident, she has no idea that he has made the deal to buy the hotel. Just as she is finally falling for Deji, despite much resistance, she learns the truth and is devastated. Determined to save the hotel from being replaced by a shopping mall, she sets up an amazing fundraiser; but it is not enough. With just hours to go, an anonymous donor steps in and saves the hotel from demolition. Surprisingly, her saviour is Deji, who proves that love always finds a way.

The movie, which was set in London and Lagos will be screened for the first time at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September. TIFF has selected The Royal Hibiscus Hotel as Contemporary World Cinema, out of hundreds or entries, landing the movie made by EbonyLife Films a third major international festival premiere. The movie is the only Nigerian selection and one of just three African features in the Contemporary World Cinema category, which spotlights forty-eight of the best new films worldwide. This 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.

Set in Lagos and London, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel tells the story of a disillusioned London chef, ‘Ope’, who returns to Nigeria and discovers that going home can bring unexpected surprises. 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.

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. Mo Abudu, the Executive Producer, thrilled about the upcoming premiere, said, “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.”

The 2017 edition of The Toronto International Film Festival will take place from September 7-17. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel is scheduled for release in February 2018. Watch the trailer for The Royal Hibiscus Hotel below: