"A WELL-ACTED, FINELY WROUGHT EPIC… THE FAULTLESS '60S ART DIRECTION HELPS TO BRING THE MILIEU TO LIFE, AS DO MR. EJIOFOR'S AND MS. NEWTON'S TYPICALLY STORMY PERFORMANCES."
-THE NEW YORK TIMES
"SUPERB PERFORMANCES, PARTICULARLY FROM THANDIE NEWTON AND ANIKA NONI ROSE. THIS GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTLESS STORY CAN HARDLY FAIL TO ENGROSS, PARTICULARLY WITH NEWTON AT THE TOP OF HER GAME."
- VARIETY
"THE FILM IS GORGEOUS, EVOCATIVE, AND EASILY THE HIGHLIGHT OF NEWTON'S ACHIEVEMENTS AS AN ACTRESS"
- VANITY FAIR
"GREAT PERFORMANCES FROM RICHLY DRAWN IMAGES. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, TURNING IN YET ANOTHER SUPERB PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR."
- INDIEWIRE
"AN EPIC AND STRIKING ADAPTATION… POWERFUL AND MOVING PERFORMANCES"
- SCREEN DAILY
"A BRILLIANT DIRECTING DEBUT"
- THE HUFFINGTON POST
"TERRIFIC. IT’S A FASCINATING STORY."
- ACCESS HOLLYWOOD
"GREAT PERFORMANCES (NOTABLY BY CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AND THANDIE NEWTON)"
- ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"A RICH AND PASSIONATE SAGA"
- THE VILLAGE VOICE
"3 STARS. WELL-ACTED ADAPTATION OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE'S AWARD-WINNING NOVEL. A RELEVANT SAGA THAT’S WORTH TELLING"
- TIMEOUT NEW YORK
"A STORY WORTH TELLING. THE FILM IS WELL ACTED ALL AROUND AND THE EXCELLENT ART DIRECTION BRINGS THE ’60S TO COLORFUL LIFE."
- CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"3 STARS. IT’S A RELEVANT SAGA THAT’S WORTH TELLING… WELL-ACTED ADAPTATION OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S AWARD-WINNING NOVEL … A NIGERIAN GONE WITH THE WIND"
- TIMEOUT CHICAGO
"THE PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS ARE QUITE GOOD"
- CHICAGO READER
"NIGERIA'S BOOMING FILM INDUSTRY HAS TAKEN A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THE FORTHCOMING U.S. RELEASE OF HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE STARS OSCAR NOMINEE CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, ALONGSIDE HOLLYWOOD STAR THANDIE NEWTON."
- NBC'S THE GRIO
"WORTH WATCHING"
- LOUIS PROYECT
"AN EXTRAORDINARY MOVIE. THIS IS A ‘MUST SEE MOVIE’. THIS IS THEN KIND OF FILM TIFF WAS CREATED FOR"
- MYETVMEDIA
"HALF OF A YELLOW SUN WILL TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY"
- THECRACKBOX
"4 STARS. IT'S HEART IS DEFINITELY IN THE RIGHT PLACE."
- FLICKERING MYTH
"3 STARS. HALF OF A YELLOW SUN DOES IMPRESS. WITHIN THE ARRAY OF STRONG PERFORMANCES, WITH BOTH EJIOFOR AND NEWTON SHINING IN THE LEAD ROLES."
- HEYYOUGUYS
"CHIWETEL EJIOFOR'S SECOND-MOST ANTICIPATED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR"
- SIGHT ON SOUND
"NEWTON REMAINS A DYNAMIC PRESENCE THROUGHOUT"
- SLANT MAGAZINE
"IMPRESSIVE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT. BOTH TIMELY AND COMPELLING"
- KAM WILLIAMS, NEWSBLAZE & BARET NEWSWIRE
"THINK OF THIS AS AN AFRICAN “GONE WITH THE WINDâ€. HALF OF A YELLOW SUN HAS THE AUTHENTIC FEEL OF HISTORY."
- ROGERS MOVIE NATION
"YOU MUST WATCH HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. AN INCREDIBLE FILM. THIS IS A FILM ABOUT LOVE, THIS IS A FILM ABOUT TERROR, THIS IS A FILM ABOUT THE BEAUTY AND RESILIENCE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. THE ACTING WAS IMPECCABLE. THE SUSPENSE WAS CAPTIVATING. HALF OF A YELLOW SUN IS A FIRST-RATE FILM FOR ANY VIEWER."
- APPLAUSE AFRICA
"MOVIES RARELY DO BOOKS JUSTICE, AND THUS I WAS SURPRISED THAT THE FILM ADAPTATION OF HALF OF A YELLOW SUN CAPTURED THE NUANCE THAT AUTHOR CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE ACHIEVED IN HER AWARD-WINNING NOVEL."
- THE ROOT
Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) are glamorous twins from a wealthy Nigerian family. Upon returning to a privileged city life in newly independent 1960s Nigeria after their expensive English education, the two women make very different choices. Olanna shocks her family by going to live with her lover, the "revolutionary professor" Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his devoted houseboy Ugwu (John Boyega) in the dusty university town of Nsukka; Kainene turns out to be a fiercely successful businesswoman when she takes over the family interests, and surprises even herself when she falls in love with Richard (Joseph Mawle), an English writer. Preoccupied by their romantic entanglements, and a betrayal between the sisters, the events of their life seem to loom larger than politics. However, they become caught up in the events of the Nigerian civil war, in which the lgbo people fought an impassioned struggle to establish Biafra as an independent republic, ending in chilling violence which shocked the entire world.
A sweeping romantic drama, HALF OF A YELLOW SUN takes the sisters and their lovers on a journey through the war which is powerful, intensely emotional and, as the response of readers around the world has shown, it is a story which can touch everyone’s heart.
Written By: The International best selling author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Novel), and Biyi Bandele (Screenplay)
Directed By: Biyi Bandele
Produced By: Andrea Calderwood, Gail Egan
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Academy Award and Golden Globe Winner 12 Years a Slave star; 5 time Golden Globe nominee; Independent Spirit Award Winner; American Gangster, Children of Men, Endgame, Kinky Boots, Dirty Pretty Things), Thandie Newton (Winner of BAFTA Award, Crash, Mission Impossible II, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Chronicles of Riddick, Beloved, For Colored Girls), Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls, For Colored Girls), John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Attack the Block, Star Wars: Episode VIII)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s prize-winning, Half of a Yellow Sun, is making its way to the movie screen. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Half of a Yellow Sun is the story of sisters Olanna and Kainene who return home to 1960s Nigeria, where they diverge on very different paths.( more )
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A Literary Star Is Born. A 19-year-old Adichie left for the U.S. where she received a scholarship to study communication at Drexel University for two years. She continued her studies at Eastern Connecticut State University, graduating summa cum laude in communication and political science in 2001.( more )
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie--celebrated, award-winning author (her most recent being the National Book Critics Circle Award for her novel Americanah received on March 13, 2014)--sits down with fellow Naija beauty Lola Ogunnaike for an interview on Arise 360. Chimamanda talks about the exciting, upcoming film adaptation of her novel, Half the Yellow Sun, and about the very real possibility of working with Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. ( more )
Bandele: I had to make 'Half of a Yellow Sun'. Writer and film director Biyi Bandele shares the defining moments that have helped shaped his career. ( more )
Half of a Yellow Sun Actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor Chats with Oprah. Nigerian-UK actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor gets interviewed by queen of television talk show, Oprah Whiney. Other movies he has acted include; Dirty Pretty Things, Serenity, Kinky Boots, Children of Men, Amistad, 12 Years a Slave and the adaptation of the book ‘Half a Yellow Sun’. ( more )