NIGERIA: Nigerians welcome the film adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun, the award winning Biafran war epic by author, Chimamanda Adichie

Record ID: 236584

  • Title: NIGERIA: Nigerians welcome the film adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun, the award winning Biafran war epic by author, Chimamanda Adichie
  • Date: 14th April 2014
  • Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (APRIL 12, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SILVERBIRD GALLERIA VARIOUS OF BRITISH ACTOR, CHIWETEL EJIOFOR/ DIRECTOR, BIYI BANDELE/ PRODUCER, ANDREA CALDERWOOD POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE RED CARPET VARIOUS OF GUESTS ON THE RED CARPET VARIOUS OF NIGERIAN AUTHOR, CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE AND FAMILY POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) NIGERIAN AUTHOR, CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE, SAYING: "I think it's a part of our history that's important we talk about so I hope that it makes Nigerians not just aware of our history but start to ask questions about our history because I think that the present is also very much a product of our history and I think it's important that we learn what happened so that we make sure it never happens again."
  • Embargoed: 29th April 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Reuters ID: LVA2GDD0FTOBTTD5PN690FIW7GV9
  • Story Text: The adaptation of author Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie's award winning novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' made a special debut in Nigerian cinemas at the weekend, bringing its star cast to the commercial capital Lagos and drawing widespread praise from the selected viewers.
    British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor and the film's director Biyi Bandele walked the red carpet alongside Nigerian dignitaries and novelist Ngozi-Adichie, who won the Orange prize for the book.

    "I think it's a part of our history that's important we talk about so I hope that it makes Nigerians not just aware of our history but start to ask questions about our history because I think that the present is also very much a product of our history and I think it's important that we learn what happened so that we make sure it never happens again," she said of the film.
    Half of a Yellow Sun is an epic love story set in the 1960's that weaves together the lives of four people caught up in the turbulence of the Biafran war, which led to the deaths of about 1 million people.
    First premiered in Canada and later on in the United Kingdom in 2013, it was a homecoming for BAFTA award winning and Oscar nominated, Ejiofor who is originally from south-eastern Nigeria.
    The British star who plays the role of a revolutionary professor in the movie says he is excited at the opportunity to bring to life a part of Nigeria's history.

    "It's been an extraordinary experience for me, you know my, I was introduced to the book by my mother about seven years ago when it just came out, it was a book she loved and it spoke to our experiences as well during the Biafran war and then I read it and I thought it was incredible, I thought Chimamanda Adichie had just done a beautiful and a poetic story as well, these real people that you so rarely see in cinema, people that I recognised you know, the kind of two-dimensional depiction of Nigerians or Africans, real kind of, real individuals that reminded me of my parents, my grand-parents and for all of those reasons, I was excited about it," he said.
    The film is directed by Nigerian playwright and novelist, Biyi Bandele who said a great cast and crew as well as a deep understanding of Nigeria's history were notable strengths in the film-making process. Biyi was born during the Nigerian civil war had always been fascinated by the story.

    "Well, I'm Nigerian, you know, it's my history and I happen to know that history pretty well. A few years before I started working on adapting Chimamanda's book, I had been working on a short story by Chinua Achebe, a short story called "Girls at War" and while I was working on "Girls at War", I read everything, everything that was available that I could get hold of about the 60's and about the Biafran war and so by the time "Half of a Yellow Sun came along, I was completely steeped in the history of that period," he said.
    In a country known for its multi-million dollar amateur movie industry - Nollywood, guests at the premiere said they were highly impressed by the quality of the film and the authenticity of how the story was told on screen.

    "I have to say that I was quite surprised, quite surprised that the director had really turned the story into his own, into his own version so it took me a little while to adjust but when I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it, I mean I thought it was a great effort for Nigerian cinema, I think that it 's such a beautifully shot, beautifully captured film," Tokoni Peterside, a Lagos resident.

    "In terms of quality, it is excellent so I find it difficult to watch most of the Nollywood films that come out so if we could have more films in Nollywood that tell a Nigerian story, from a Nigerian perspective, in a way that is real and tangible to us, like "Half of a Yellow Sun" has done, that quality is going to appeal to more people like me and we will go to the movies, we will buy the CDs and the DVDs and stuff; I had a great time," Jinmi Sonuga-Oluanuiga, another Lagos resident.
    Shot in the oil-rich Niger Delta's Calabar and Creek Town, hundreds of local residents were employed to carry out various assignments during the making of the film. The funding for the movie also came from Nigeria.

    "You know, I always felt that you know has been recognised throughout Africa actually, Nollywood has extraordinary talent pool and I felt and Biyi felt that to try and combine that in a slightly more international way is like a no-brainer, you know it's like it makes sense and so that's what we tried to do and I think we'll continue to try to do that. I think there's a very seismic international appetite for great stories and you know," said Ejiofor.
    The film stars Hollywood and Nollywood actors including BAFTA award winning actor Thandie Newton, American singer and actress, Anika Noni Rose and Nigerian Genevieve Nnaji.
    The highly anticipated film will be released in all Nigerian cinemas later this month, but has already been released in cinemas across Australia and the United Kingdom.
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