MOVIE: Cascade films festival begins 25th year with Half of a Yellow Sun

The Cascade festival of Af­rican films, the longest-running African film festival in the Unit­ed States, opens Friday, Febru­ary 6 with a screening of Half of a Yellow Sun, an adaptation of the popular novel by Chimam­anda Ngozi Adichie. The movie stars Thandie Newton and Chi­wetel Ejiofor, who featured in “12 Years a Slave” and is direct­ed by Biyi Bandele, who will in­troduce his movie for screen­ings at the Hollywood Theatre.
The festival is celebrating its 25th year with a 34-film schedule that runs through March 8.
Ten visiting directors will come to Portland, in Arizona State, to discuss their work and almost all movies will be shown free of charge at the campus. The festival will celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month, and has a wom­en-film-makers’ week with four women directors coming to PCC USA to discuss their work. A programme on the rise of Nol­lywood, the thriving Nigerian film industry, will be held, and there are student and family programmes.