Biyi Bandele, the famous Nigerian novelist, playwright and director who produced the 2013 film ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ and the upcoming film ‘The King’s Horseman’ has passed away. He was 54 years old.
Pandel died on Sunday in Lagos, Nigeria, according to a Facebook share From his daughter, Timmy Bundel. The cause of death was not mentioned.
“Bee was an amazingly talented writer and director, as well as a loyal friend and lovable father,” Timmy writes in the post. “He was a narrator of his bone, with an uninterrupted perspective, a unique voice and wisdom that spoke boldly through all of his art, in poetry, novels, plays and on screen. He told stories that have had a profound impact and inspired many around the world. His legacy will continue through his work.”
Pandel recently finished his latest movie titled “Knight of the King”. Inspired by Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka’s Nobel Prize-winning play “Death and the King’s Knight,” the drama is set to have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month. The film, billed as the first Yoruba language feature film to debut at TIFF, was produced by Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife Films for Netflix.
Bandele also co-directed this year’s Blood Sisters for Netflix. The first Nigerian original series of this series follows two best friends Sarah and Kimi as they have to escape after a wealthy groom goes missing during his engagement party. Netflix paid tribute to Bandele via a Twitter shareSaying: “May he rest in power.”
“The death of Bei Pandel is a huge loss for Nigeria’s film and creative industry,” the post read. “People will remember him as a force that made some of the best films from Africa.”
Bandel was born in 1967 in a small town in Nigeria called Kafanchan. He studied drama at Obafemi Awolowo University before leaving Nigeria at the age of 22 for London. There, Bandel found a publisher and began his career as a playwright at the Royal Court Theatre. On top of his extensive work on stage, the creator has also written scripts for radio and television dramas. Finally, the BBC picked up one of Bundel’s TV shows for the anthology series “Scenario” and attached it to Danny Boyle – the future director of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours” – To guide.
In 2013, Bandele made his directorial debut with “Half of a Yellow Sun”, an adaptation of the 2006 novel by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandwe Newton and Anika Noni Rose in a family drama set in Nigeria in the 1960s.
Bandele also directed the 2015 romantic drama “Fifty” and several episodes of the MTV African series “Shuga”.
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