"The idea of making a film - a film that I had certainly never seen before - about the slave experience was a huge responsibility. It's a project that requires a wider understanding of the geopolitical nature of the slave trade, of historical and modern-day racism."

"I was attracted to 'Half of a Yellow Sun' because of the story."

"I loved reading when I was young. I was just completely taken by stories. And I remember taking that into English literature at school and taking that into Shakespeare and finding that opened up a whole world of self-expression to me that I didn't have access to previously."

"I am struck by how, walking down the street, I'm rarely made aware of my race, but that among journalists, race is absolutely massive."

"God forbid you be an ugly girl, 'course too pretty is also your doom, 'cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the prettiest girl in the room."

"The beauty of the unknown is that the legacy we leave is written in the hearts of others."

"And then there's also this element of - some people would describe it as spirits or a presence that appears when things are very difficult, physically and emotionally. You know, when you're really putting out. So the third man aura is sort of an appearance. It's the yeti."

"I'm not ugly, but my beauty is a total creation."