Hugo and I at the premiere of African Queen (8)
I believe the answer is:
victoria
'queen' is the definition.
(Queen Victoria)
'hugo and i at the premiere of african' is the wordplay.
'hugo' becomes 'Victor Hugo' (author Victor Hugo).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the premiere of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'african' is 'a'.
'victor'+'i'+'a'='VICTORIA'
(Other definitions for victoria that I've seen before include "Queen - lake -sponge" , "Largest lake in Africa" , "falls in > London station" , "Capital of the Seychelles" , "Tree; part of hand" .)