August Date Set For 'Half Of A Yellow Sun' Movie Premiere In Cinemas Across Nigeria

Following its eventual certification by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), distributors of the much-talked-about high-budget Nigerian film, Half of a Yellow Sun, have fixed August 1, as release date for the film in Nigerian cinemas. Producers of the movie had cancelled the initial release date
of April 25, knowing it will be afoul with the law to go public, without the endorsement of the regulatory agency. The Censored Board had frowned at some violence scenes in the movie, which it said could incite ethnic unrest in the country.

The movie, an adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie’s book on the Nigerian civil war, is a directorial debut by Biyi Bandele, a Nigerian playwright based in England. Although, the flick, which features Oscar-nominated actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, BAFTA award winning actor, Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose and AMAA winners, Genevieve Nnaji, Onyeka Onwenu, Zack Orji and O.C Ukeje is being promoted as a love story, centered around the Biafra war, snapshots of genocide, plotted around the love characters to elicit emotions are the likely offensive scenes the filmmakers were advised to expunge.

Yielding the advice, the filmmakers, who were initially reluctant to have a different version of the film for the Nigerian audience said the adjustment has cost them N20 million. The August 1 final release date will follow another premiere of the film at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in Durban, South Africa, later in the month.

Bigsam Media, a Public Relations handler of the work who described it as a breath of fresh air, said the movie has raised the standard of Nollywood movies from good to excellent. “Kudos to the producers of the movie, they did a good job. The producers of the landmark movie would like to say a big thank you to Nigerians for their love, patience and support,” the outfit said in a statement.