''Heaven's Hell'' is a 2019 Nigerian

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, produced and directed by Katung Aduwak; it stars an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

which includes Nse Ikpe Etim, Fabian Adeoye Lojede,

Bimbo Akintola Bimbo Akintola (born 5 May 1970) is a Nigerian actress. Early life and education Akintola was born on 5 May 1970 to a father from Oyo State and a mother from Edo State, Nigeria. She studied at Maryland Convent Private School in Lagos State. ...

Chet Anekwe Chet Anekwe is an actor and filmmaker who was born in Nigeria and raised in New York City. His work spans Hollywood, Nollywood and the New York Theater. Filmography Awards and nominations Other awards *1997 AUDELCO Award nomine ...

Damilola Adegbite Damilola Adegbite (born Oluwadamilola Adegbite; 18 May 1985) is a Nigerian actress, model, and television personality. She played Telema Duke in the soap opera ''Tinsel'', and Kemi Williams in the movie '' Flower Girl''. She won Best Actress in a ...

OC Ukeje Okechukwu Ukeje, known as OC Ukeje is Nigerian actor,Model (person), model and musician. He came into prominence after winning the Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO) reality show. He has received several awards including Africa Movie Academy Awards, ...

Kalu Ikeagwu Kalu Egbui Ikeagwu is a British-Nigerian actor and writer. As an actor, he has received several awards and nominations for his performances on screen. Early life Kalu was born in England but was relocated to Nigeria by his dad at the age of 9 ...

Femi Jacobs Femi Jacobs (born Oluwafemisola Jacobs; 8 May) is a Nigerian actor, speaker, and singer. He came into prominence for playing Makinde Esho in the film '' The Meeting'', which also stars Rita Dominic and Jide Kosoko. For his role in ''The Mee ...

Bimbo Manuel Bimbo Manuel (born 30 October 1958) is a Nigerian actor. He was nominated for Best actor in a supporting role at the 2013 Nollywood Movies Awards. Career Bimbo hails from Lagos State. After graduating from the University of Port Harcourt with ...

and

Gideon Okeke Gideon Okeke is a Nigerians, Nigerian actor, model, and TV Presenter. He came to the public eye in 2006 when he appeared as a contestant on the first edition of ''Big Brother Nigeria''. In 2008, Gideon joined the cast of the M-Net, M-NET TV series ...

. It was majorly financed by BGL Asset Management Ltd and One O Eight Media, with production support of other partners such as Hashtag Media House and

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

. The film was initially scheduled for release on 23 January 2015, but was delayed due to censorship. It was eventually released on 10 May 2019.

Synopsis

The film, which was inspired by a true story, is set in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

city and tells the story of two housewives whose bond of friendship seem unbreakable, but is filled with deceit and betrayal; in the midst of the darkness that hovers above their relationships with their spouses.

Cast

*Fabian Adeoye Lojede as Edward Henshaw * Nse Ikpe Etim as Alice Henshaw *

as Jeff Aliu *

as Tsola Aliu *

as Janet Cole *

as Ahmed *

as Efosa Elliots *Gideon Okeke as Akanimo *

as Detective Popoola *

as Chief Justice * Katherine Obiang as Tara *

Linda Ejiofor Linda Ejiofor (born Linda Ihuoma Ejiofor; 17 July 1986) is a Nigerian actress and model from Abia state, located in the southeastern region of Nigeria. She is known for her role as Bimpe Adekoya in M-Net's TV series ''Tinsel''. She was nominate ...

as Secretary * Waje Iruobe as Estate Agent

Production

''Heaven’s Hell'' has been flagged as a film that intends to help fight domestic violence against women and children. Aduwak states: "...as it seems, domestic violence is still handled with kid's gloves in this part of the world. Ultimately, I want ''Heaven’s Hell'' to liberate people. I want it to inspire someone to get out of a bad relationship .whatever it can accomplish to make the world a saner place". The development of the film took a year, after which

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

commenced on 9 April 2013 in Lagos with the major cast. A couple of scenes were shot in Kirikiri Maximum and Medium Security Prisons in Lagos. Filming in

lasted over three weeks, after which shooting was moved to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, where some scenes were also filmed. The film was shot using Sony F55 cameras, and the film's production was led by Jeffrey Smith. The project was majorly financed by BGL Asset Management Ltd & One O Eight Media, with production support of other partners such as Hashtag Media House, and

Soundtrack

The official soundtrack from the film, titled "3rd World War", was performed by

Jesse Jagz Jesse Garba Abaga (born 10 August 1984), known professionally as Jesse Jagz, is a Nigerian rapper, record producer, and songwriter. He signed a record deal with Chocolate City in 2010 and released his debut studio album ''Jag of All Tradez'' t ...

and

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's r ...

, and was released on 7 August 2013.

Promotions and release

A press conference for the film was held on 8 April 2013 at Clear Essence,

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class r ...

, Lagos, where it was announced that the film would be released in the third quarter of 2013. It was however postponed for unknown reasons.In December 2014, FilmOne Distribution officially announced that the film would be released on 23 January 2015; it has however been delayed by the Nigerian Films and Video Censors Board due to the presence of some "explicit and inciting content". The filmmakers have been advised to re-edit the film before it can be released. The distribution of the film which was initially helmed by FilmOne, has now been taken over by Genesis Distribution. The film was eventually released theatrically on 10 May 2019.

References

External links

* *{{YouTube, tY5Fpa7M27w, ''Heaven's Hell'' trailer 2010s psychological drama films Films about domestic violence Nigerian drama films English-language Nigerian films Films shot in Lagos Films set in Lagos Films shot in Wales 2019 drama films 2019 films 2010s English-language films