The Ebony Life Film production, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel has hit a major milestone. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, a romantic comedy starring the lovely Zainab Balogun and the handsome Kenneth Okolie has been selected to premier at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. The big news was announced by lead actress, Zainab Balogun sometime last week on her Instagram account. The actress is looking several shades of gorgeous with her leading Man on the movie poster she shares on her instagram page.
Zainab Balogun rose to fame as a TV Presenter and Host, but it wasn’t until last year that her celebrity became ingrained whe n she was cast in what has gone on to be Nigeria’s most successful movie yet. Zainab Balogun starred as multifaceted wedding planner,Wonu in Ebony Life’s wildly successful, The Wedding Party ( the movie grossed over 450million naira). The actress had many who followed her career as a TV personality doing a double take with the amazing performance she gave . Sure as was deserved, The Wedding Party made it to TIFF and any questions of Zainab’s acting prowess was put to rest. Many including myself would argue that second only to Sola Sobowale who played Tinuade Coker (Mother of the bride), Zainab gave the most engaging and convincing peformance. While it may not be Zainab’s first appearance as a cast member at TIFF, it most certainly is her first appearance as a lead actress in a movie at the Toronto International Film Festival.
It is in our opinion, a well-derserved upgrade from supporting actress and we’re excited to see her work in The Royal Hibiscus Hotel and how it measures up against her performance as Wonu. Nonetheless, we wish Zainab a huge congratulations and we couldn’t be happier for the star.
