NIGERIAN cinephiles rejoiced this month as news emerged that Half of a Yellow Sun (pictured above), arguably the most ambitious film project in the nation's history, had received a release date in its own country. For three months the nation's media censorship board held up the film, raising vague concerns over its depiction of the nation's bloody Biafra War. But that is not what makes the film's release notable. Half of a Yellow Sun was actually released a year ago, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, then finagling releases in major markets such as Britain before making it back home to Nigeria. It was a strange route for a Nigerian film, most of which have been cheap productions aimed primarily at a domestic market. But Half of a Yellow Sun is a symbol of a new wave of filmmaking and distribution that is changing the way Nigeria's massive movie industry operates.
Ever since Nollywood's 1992 emergence, when a local importer reputedly acquired some outdated videocassette tapes and shot a cheap movie to liquidate them quickly, the industry...Continue reading
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