Quote by Biyi Bandele: “Art tells the truth even when it lies.”

Fiction, music, and visual art are not bound by facts — and that freedom is exactly what allows them to reveal emotional and human truths that journalism and history cannot always reach. A made-up story can describe something real in a way that documented fact cannot.

Bandele made this observation during interviews related to his adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun, released in the context of growing global attention to Nigerian storytelling. He was working at a moment when Nollywood was consolidating its position as one of the world's largest film industries.

Nigerian playwright, novelist, and filmmaker who adapted Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun into a film released in 2013. He wrote and directed the film while living between Lagos, London, and New York, and was a significant figure in the generation of Nigerian artists working across global platforms.