Metro International Entertainment have been racking up sales for the drama Half of a Yellow Sun, with Soda Pictures taking UK rights and Leapfrog snatching up Australian and New Zealand rights for the feature starring 12 Years a Slave's Chiwetel Ejiofor, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Metro said it also has closed with TVA for Canada and has multiple offers from U.S. distributors. The feature, based on a best-selling novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and co-starring Thandie Newton, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and will have its U.S. debut at the AFI Fest on Nov. 11.

Directed by first-timer Biyi Bandele and produced by Andrea Calderwood (Last King of Scotland) and Gail Egan (The Constant Gardner), Half of a Yellow Sun is a love story set against the backdrop of the struggle for independence in Nigeria. Shareman Media, BFI and Lipsync financed the picture.