Holding Hope
| Holding Hope | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Desmond Elliot |
| Produced by | Emem Isong Uche Jombo |
| Written by | Uduak Isong Oguamanam |
| Story by | Emem Isong Uche Jombo |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Slam (Composer) Austin Erowele (score) |
| Cinematography | Austin Nwaolie |
| Edited by | Uche Alexmoore |
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Production
company |
Royal Arts Academy
Denziot Studios |
| Distributed by | Royal Arts Academy |
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Release date
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Running time
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135 minutes |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Language | English |
Holding Hope is a 2010 Nigerian drama film written by Uduak Isong Oguamanam, produced by Emem Isong and Uche Jombo, and directed by Desmond Elliot. It stars Desmond Elliot, Uche Jombo and Nadia Buari, introducing Abiola Segun Williams. It was premiered in Lagos on 8 August 2010, along with Bursting Out and was met with mixed to positive critical reviews. Nadia Buari and Moyo Lawal were nominated for "Best actress in a supporting role in an English film" and "Most Promising Act (female)" respectively at the 2012 Best of Nollywood Awards for their roles in the film.
The film narrates the story of Mrs Badmus (Abiola Segun Williams) who owns a multimillion business empire (Da Costa Holdings), but her son Olumide (Desmond Elliot) is very wayward and is not interested in running the business. Mrs Badmus eventually reveals to her son that she is dying of cancer and she has few months left to live. She gives a condition that if he wants her to be happy, he needs to get married to Hope (Uche Jombo), the financial director of the company and a very dedicated employee. Mrs Badmus also feels Hope is the perfect wife that can keep her son's wasteful spending in check when she is no more. Olumide orchestrates a plan with her girlfriend, Sabina (Nadia Buari) and Olumide starts to fake his love for Hope, waiting for the day his mother will die. However, Mrs Badmus' Will states that Olumide has to be married to Hope to have her properties; If anything otherwise happens, Hope should have the properties. Olumide has no other choice than to marry Hope, but however frustrates her with everything after wedlock, while still going out with Sabina. Hope, who continues to play a good and faithful wife despite her husband's attitude, finds out that she is also suffering from Leukaemia. Olumide eventually falls deeply in love with Hope, but it is too late because she now has few months left to live.
The script of Holding Hope was inspired by the account of three cancer survivors; Desmond Elliot and Uche Jombo believed so much in the film, so they both joined Emem Isong to executively produce the film. Speaking on the film, Jombo states: "we want to make people cry, laugh and perhaps pause and think at the same time". Uche Jombo had to lose a significant amount of weight to play the role of Hope in the film; She had to go on a diet and practically "starve" herself. During the course filming, she was made to sleep for only about 2 hours a day, so she can have a natural pale appearance, some little makeup effects were added on her as well. She also worked out excessively and was able to burn up to 50 pounds of fat. Jombo stepped out on some redcarpet events before the film was officially announced which sparked rumours about her and her health status. The film was shot in Lagos. One of the cancer patients whose story inspired the making of the film and is being described in one of the characters died during the course of filming.
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