“Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other, and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this.” – Martin Scorsese.
This past Sunday was the premiere of The Royal Hibiscus Hotel movie produced by Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife Films. If like me, you have seen every movie produced by EbonyLife Films, you will understand my excitement about seeing the movie.
This is not the first movie premiere I have attended. Thanks to my job, I get to attend a few of these kinds of events, but, one of my goals for this year is to journal as much as I can. So, heading to this event, I prepared myself, to not only do my job but to document as much of the event as I could for the blog. So off I went, with only one phone (a Motorola G5s) as my iPhone was unavoidably absent. Long story.
The dress code was ‘a touch of red’ but for some reason, I put off getting an outfit until the last minute so I threw on a short lacy pink dress and crossed my fingers that there would be too much crowd for anyone to notice my ‘touch of pink’.
As usual, I left my house early to get to the venue in time for the red carpet but guess what? I got there with so much time to spare, I’m sure the entire world noticed that I didn’t adhere to the ‘touch of red’ dress code.
Soon though, the guests started flooding in, every available camera was flashing as the red carpet slowly got filled with invited guests and celebrities. As a rep for my media house, I worked the red carpet until it began to slowly shut down as the guests and casts moved into the main event lounge which had a general event ground and a private lounge.
Like the theme of the movie, a ‘celebration of love and food’, the lounge was overflowing with an assortment of food from canapes to noodles and drinks from non-alcoholic to alcoholic beverages. My favourites were the flavoured chocolates from Loshes Chocolates. Who knew that made-in-Nigeria chocolates sprinkled with Chili could taste so good?! Definitely getting some more for Valentine’s. Not just because I loved them, but because the founder, Femi Oyedipe, was kind and really sweet to me.
Anyway, I finally made it into The Royal Hibiscus Hotel movie screening room to see the movie. And my thoughts? Yes, EbonyLife just gave us another great love story. Just in time for the Valentine’s too! The Royal Hibiscus Hotel movie premieres in Nigerian cinemas today so lovers of love, laughter, and a healthy appetite for food, you’ve got a movie to satisfy your cinema cravings.
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10
This article was first published on my previous blog and was transfered here with only minor typographic edits.
The content provided in this article is provided for information purposes only as a snapshot of my personal thoughts at this particular time and is not to be a substitute for movie advice and consultation as I am not engaged in the provision or rendering of such professional advice or services. You understand and agree that I will not be liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising out of the use of, or reliance upon any content or information in the article.
