Genevieve Nnaji speaks on Half of a Yellow Sun.

Top  Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji, who’s known to have played lead  roles in many block-bluster movies, does not think the role she played  in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun,  was as challenging as her previous roles in movies. Continue..

Speaking  shortly after a private screening of the film at Silverbird Cinemas,  Victoria Island, Lagos, Tuesday night which was sponsored by Etisalat  Nigeria, Genevieve said, “Half of a Yellow Sun is one of the biggest  films I have done so far, but definitely not the most challenging role I  have played in movies. I have done a lot more challenging roles in  Nollywood.”
Narrating how she felt starring in a film that evokes  old memories of  the genocidal civil war inNigeria,; Genevieve who was  wearing an Escada dress, Chanel yellow lambskin clutch and Christian  Louboutin shoes said, it was safer for her because she played the role  of a Yoruba woman, where she didn’t need to experience the horrors of;  the war.
She, however, expressed opitimism  that in future, “I’d  hope we will tell a different story about the civil war. Then, I will  play the role of an Igbo woman, where I will express exactly what it  meant to be an Igbo woman at that era.”
Meanwhile, explaining why  Etisalat endorsed the big-budget film which starred Nigerian born  British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor alongside other top Nollywood stars, Mr.  Matthew Willshere, Acting Chief Executive Office of the telecom giant  said, apart from featuring two of its ambassadors, Genevieve and  Hollywood actor, Hakeem Kae-Kazim , the film recaptures the Nigerian  story. “It’s also one of the best Nigerian films at all times. That’s  why we are proud to be associated with it,”Willshere said.
In the  movie, the lead character, Chiwetel known as Odenigbo experienced the  civil war where he had his life tied, and had to prove true love in the  time of war. While the private screening lasted, the audience comprised  of corporate  Nigerians, politicians and movie goers gave a standing  ovation to the producer of the film, Biyi Bandele for a job well done.