Nigerian-born British playwright Biyi Bandele translates the novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and takes it to the big screen. Set in the late 60’s, the film – due to reach cinemas this summer – highlights and expresses the emotion and indignities suffered during the Nigerian Civil War.
The film’s main characters, Olanna (who will be played by Thandie Newton), her sister Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) and Olanna’s revolutionary boyfriend, Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), are forced to make bold choices in order to navigate the complex social terrain mapped out by Nigeria’s ethnic, political and religious divide, and in order to survive.
According to Bandele,
“The book is an epic book. It’s about 500 pages long, and I had to make a movie that works under two hours. So I had to make some difficult choices when I was writing the script and it took me quite a few years actually to get the script right.”
As a novel Half of a Yellow Sun gives us a rare and unique glimpse at the struggle for self-determination, and as a novel we expect big things – see if it lives up to your expectations when it launches in early March across Australia and early summer in the US and UK.
Image source: CNN.com
