New Film: Chiwetel Ejiofor of '12 Years a Slave' stars in 'Half Of A Yellow Sun'

WHO Chiwetel Ejiofor
THE MOVIE "Half of a Yellow Sun"
THE DEAL The star of the Golden Globe-winning film "12 Years a Slave" plays a revolutionary in this romantic drama set against the Nigerian-Biafran War of the late 1960s, Deadline.com reports.


The film, based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel, was recently acquired by Monterey Media and is set to open early this summer. The cast includes Thandie Newton and Anika Noni Rose, who both starred in Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls." It's the directorial debut of Biyi Bandele-Thomas, a Nigerian playwright and novelist.

WHO Dinesh D'Souza
THE MOVIE "America"
THE DEAL The conservative Christian author, whose documentary "2016: Obama's America" became a $33 million hit in 2012, has picked up an Oscar-winning producer for his next film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gray Frederickson, a best picture winner for "The Godfather Part II," will produce "America," based on D'Souza's 2002 book about the country's social and financial progress. Frederickson produced the pro-fracking film "The Grand Energy Transition" with energy mogul T. Boone Pickens; D'Souza recently left his job as president of The King's College and divorced his wife after a Christian magazine reported him checking into a hotel with another woman.

THE MOVIE "American Promise"
THE DEAL Racial stereotypes and class divisions are illuminated in this documentary by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, who follow the progress of their 5-year-old son, Idris, through the prestigious Dalton School on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The filmmakers will appear in person at screenings this weekend.
INFO Friday through next Thursday at Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington. Filmmaker appearances are Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $11-$15; 631-423-7611, cinemaartscentre.org