5 Afrocentric Book-to-Film Adaptations

Tosin Adeyemi’s debut novel Children Of Blood and Bone is currently being adapted into a film, with recent viral photos and videos pointing to principal photography in South Africa. Expectations for the film are high, as the revealed cast includes personalities  of Nigerian and African descent such as Tosin Cole, Ayra Starr, Damson Idris, Viola Davis, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Thuso Mbedu, Chloe Bailey, Pamilerin Ayodeji, Shamz Garuba and Temi Fagbenle. The upcoming film joins the list of cinema releases and productions that are created from Afrocentric literary writings.

Here we take a look at five other such book-to-film adaptations.

Half of A Yellow Sun

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote her 2006 historical fiction Half Of A Yellow Sun after the infamous Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). Set against the backdrop of the early and late sixties in postcolonial Nigeria, the novel leans into the love story of an intellectual couple of Igbo extraction, Olanna and Odenigbo, and their attempts to navigate the grim personal and sociopolitical  realities. About seven years after the book release, it was adapted into a film produced by Andrea Calderwood and Gail Egan, and directed by Biyi Bandele. The historical drama contains a cast of African and diasporan influences, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Boyega, Thandiwe Newton, Onyeka Onwenu, Genevieve Nnaji, OC Ukeje and Anika Noni Rose. It was filmed on location in Nigeria and premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Beasts of No Nation

In 2005, the  Nigerian-American creative Uzodinma Iweala marked his debut as a novelist with Beasts of No Nation, a story about a boy who is forced to become a soldier in an unidentified war-ravaged West African country. Its title derived from a 1989 Fela Anikulapo-Kuti album of same title, the novel is a product of the writer’s thesis work in Creative Writing at Harvard. Following its release, the book won the 2005 Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, a category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize awarded to debut works of fiction. A film adaptation of the same title was made in 2015, written, co-produced and directed by American filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga. Shot in Ghana, the film stars British actor Idris Elba as the rebel force leader, Ghanaian actor Abraham Attah as child soldier Agu, British-Ghanaian actress Ama Konadu Abebrese as Agu’s Mother, among others actors of African descent.

Happiness is a Four-Letter Word

The 2016 romantic drama film is based on the novel of same title by South African novelist, Nozizwe Cynthia Jele. Jele’s novel was a recipient  of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book, Africa Region and the M-Net film prize at the 2011 M-Net Literary Awards. Directed by Thabang Moleya, with the screenplay credited to Busiswe Ntintili, the film chronicles the lives of three Johannesburg-based friends, Nandi, Zaza and Princess and their journey of love and self-discovery.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom  

Nelson Mandela, a lawyer and an anti-apartheid and civil rights activist, made history as the first Black and democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. Prior to this moment, he spent over twenty-seven years in jail for his strong opposition  to  the apartheid regime in the British-ruled country. In the same year he became the president, he published his first volume of autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom, documenting his evolution from his childhood, formative years, education , civil rights contributions and incarceration. The book was adapted into a biographical film, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, written by British screenwriter William Nicholson and directed by Justin Chadwick. The film stars British actors Idris Elba as the older Nelson Mandela with Atandwa Kani as his youthful version. Cast members also include  Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa and Sthandiwe Kgoroge.

I Do Not Come to You by Chance

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani debut’s novel I Do Not Come To You By Chance  follows Kingsley Ibe, a fresh engineering graduate who, out of desperation for economic stability, joins his rich fraudulent uncle Boniface’s internet scam network. The film adaptation, directed by Ishaya Bako and executively produced by Genevieve Nnaji, premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and 2023 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). With a cast led by Paul Nnadiekwe and Blossom Chukwujekwu, the film also stars Emeka Nwagbaraocha, Beverly  Osu and Jennifer Eliogu, among others.