Adichie's novel came out in 2006, and Bandele immediately started working on the script. He knew from the start that he wanted Newton to play the part of Olanna.
Part of the funding for the movie came from Britain, but it was all shot in Calabar and Creek Town in Nigeria.
The British-Nigerian production is about the Nigerian civil war - the Biafran war - that tore up the country between 1967 and 1970.
The romantic drama spans over a decade, starting with Nigeria's newly found freedom from the British rule in 1960, and continuing until the end of the fighting.
The film was initially banned in Nigeria over concerns that it would re-evoke interest in the Nigerian Civil War. Director Biyi Bandele tried to convince Nigerian authorities that the film was not made with intentions to stir up trouble or incite conflict among Nigeria's tribes. The Half of a Yellow Sun book, which inspired the movie, is widely available in Nigeria and is actually studied in some Nigerian universities.
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