Flower Girl is a 2013 Nigerian

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film set and shot in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. It revolves around the story of Kemi (

Damilola Adegbite Damilola Adegbite (born Oluwadamilola Adegbite; 18 May 1985) is Nigerian actress, Model, and Television personality. She played Thelema Duke in the soap opera ''Tinsel'', and Kemi Williams in the movie '' Flower Girl''. She won Best Actress in a T ...

) who wants to marry Umar (

Chris Attoh Chris Attoh (born Christopher Keith Nii Attoh; May 17, 1979) is a Ghanaian actor, film director, on-air personality, television presenter and producer. He is best known as "Kwame Mensah" in Nigerian soap opera ''Tinsel''. Education He attend ...

), a young man who is desperate to get ahead in his career. When their relationship hits troubled waters, Kemi seeks the help of movie superstar Tunde (

Blossom Chukwujekwu Blossom Chukwujekwu is a Nigerian actor, who made his professional acting debut in 2009. In 2015, he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards. Early life and education Born Chukwudi Echezona Chukwujekwu on ...

) and they hatch a plan to get Kemi what she wants.

Plot

Kemi, working in her parents’

flower shop Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...

, dreams of becoming one of the happily married couples she sees every day. Her longtime lawyer boyfriend Umar has promised to marry her when he gets a promotion, but she is growing impatient. Still living with her parents, she spends her nights in her room planning the wedding she hopes to have someday. When Umar gets a promotion, she expects a big proposal, but Umar breaks up with her instead. Devastated, she goes on a delivery, and unable to see where she is going through tears of grief, is hit by a car. The driver turns out to be Tunde Kelani, a famous

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...

. While Tunde tends to her wounds, Kemi breaks down and tells him about her dilemma. Tunde offers to help her get Umar to propose. Together they devise a plan: they will pretend to be a couple to make Umar jealous and get him back.

Cast

As with Small Boy, Bello brought new faces to the secondary roles and decided to mix the main cast with up-and-coming young actors. For most of them, including TV star Damilola Adegbite, it was their first time acting in a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

. They had to get used to the director’s unique style and techniques during their weeks of rehearsal.

Main cast

as Kemi Williams, a young romantic

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...

who works for her parents while constantly dreaming of her perfect wedding day. *

as Umar Abubakar, Kemi’s long-time boyfriend. He's an ambitious young lawyer, anxious to rapidly climb the ladder in the law firm where he works. *

as Tunde Kelani, the hot

film star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...

. The decision to cast Chukwujekwu in this role was unanimous. Chukwujekwu said that he was attracted to the movie's message and how it was written. *

Eku Edewor Georgina Chloe Eku Edewor-Thorley, otherwise known as Eku Edewor (born 18 December 1986), is a British Nigerian actress, television presenter, and model. She is best known for her work as host of the entertainment television program ''53 Extra' ...

as Sapphire, Tunde’s on-and-off sexy, vixen girlfriend who blackmails Tunde without any hesitation. * Bikiya Graham-Douglas as Stella, Kemi’s quirky, outrageous best friend. Says Graham-Douglas, "Stella is energetic, flamboyant, unapologetic, full of life and she’s very caring....". Says Bello, "Graham-Douglas was a ball of energy on set".

Supporting cast

Patrick Doyle Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish film composer with Irish heritage. A longtime collaborator of actor-director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work composing for films such as ''Henry V'', ''Sense and Sensibility'', ''Hamle ...

as Kemi’s eccentric father, Mr. Williams. * Teni Aofiyebi as Mrs. Ada, the queen of the tabloid industry. *Tosan Edremoda-Ugbeye as Funke Williams, Kemi’s sweet, loving mother. *Ahide Adum as Tunde’s wealthy father and agent, Sule Kulani. *Grace Agu as Taiwo, a snooty sales assistant *Angela Adiele as Morenike, the second snobbish sales assistant *Jude Orhorha as Mr. Odo, Umar’s boss in the law firm

Production

Michelle Bello developed the initial rough script for the film while studying for her master's degree in Communications at

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. The class was asked to write a full-length

script, which she had never done before. She gave a lot of thought to the story she would want to write about; one that would be exciting enough to develop into a ninety-page script. She says; "I loved watching

romantic comedies Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

. I’ve always been a romantic at heart and I could often relate to the main characters and their experiences. I wanted to take this genre and adapt it to a modern day movie set in

. I wanted to explore a whole range of colorful characters - both their good sides and their bad sides because at the end of the day, no one is perfect." Bello wrote the first draft of Flower Girl, which was originally called Caught Up, in the short period of two months. She added issues occurring in relationships of young couples today in Nigerian society making it relatable for the young audiences. "I remember my screenwriting professor really liked the first draft of the script because he gave me an A, so I was really happy. Back then, I never really thought of it as my second

. It was only when trying to come up with some ideas with my brother who wrote the final script that I realized that this script would be great to shoot back home as it had an international theme and crossover appeal," says Bello.

Screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Jigi Bello says Flower Girl was a unique opportunity to create a cinematic world that would appeal to audiences in his country. He says As a

n, it was exciting to explore the characters in the new quickly emerging middle class. It starts with a real group of characters you would meet on a

street: the romantic, the playboy, the businessman, the mentor, and through a twist of fate allow them to discover each other. "The fun for me as a writer and where the

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

comes from is the honesty of these characters to their own beliefs, no matter how crazy the situation. I hope others enjoy the story as much as I did," adds Bello. Co-Producer Michelle Dede says, Producing a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, especially in

, is not the easiest thing to do. It was very rewarding because of the experience of being on a film set and all the little things that go into making a movie possible.

Music

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

was composed by Hitplay. Several additional

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

s include: * "Ma Se Yen" - performed by Lesoul * "Falling for You" - performed by Kaline * "Fine Lady" - performed by Lynxxx * "Best In Me" - performed by

Efya Jane Awindor (born April 10, 1987), better known by her stage name Efya, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter, and actress from Kumasi. She is the daughter of Nana Adwoa Awindor, a filmmaker and celebrity host of the late television show ''Greetings ...

Release

The

world premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...

of Flower Girl took place on 13 February 2013 in

. It went on general release in

Valentine’s Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thro ...

2013 and received mixed critical reviews. The film was the number one

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

hit that weekend in Lagos. The

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

premiere subsequently took place on 5 May 2013 in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

and on the first night had to be shown in an additional cinema hall due to the large number of people there who had anxiously awaited the arrival of the movie in their country. The UK premiere was held on 26 September 2013 at the Odeon Cinema in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

Talking Drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

Entertainment UK distributed a new edited version of the romantic comedy on Friday, 4 October 2013 in selected Odeon, Vue, Cineworld and independent cinemas. Flower Girl was also screened at the

Hollywood Black Film Festival The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF), dubbed the "Black Sundance," is an annual six-day film festival held in Los Angeles, California dedicated to enhancing the careers of new and established black filmmaking professionals by bringing their w ...

2013 and had its US premiere at the festival screening in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on 3 October 2013. It was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 13 July 2021.

Reception

The movie received praise for its cinematography and weave of romance and comedy. It was however criticized for poor sound design and limited musical choice.

Awards

References

External links

* * *{{YouTube, E7Mc7bNsXUU, Flower Girl Official UK Trailer
Flower girl
on

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Flower girl
on

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Blu Star Entertainment Limited
2013 films Nigerian romantic comedy films English-language Nigerian films Films shot in Lagos Films set in Lagos 2013 romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films Films shot in Nigeria English-language romantic comedy films