Neon Sets December 11 Release for 'Clarissa,' a Lagos-Set 'Mrs Dalloway'

Neon will release "Clarissa," a modern-day adaptation of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway" set in Lagos, Nigeria, in select theaters starting Wednesday, December 11. The distributor has debuted the first trailer.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri, the drama premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it was also a Queer Palm nominee. It screened alongside other Neon titles at the festival, including the eventual Palme d'Or winner "Fjord." The Esiri siblings, who grew up in Lagos, transposed Woolf's 1925 novel from post-World War I London to a newly democratic Nigeria.

The cast, assembled by recent Oscar nominee Nina Gold, includes former Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo, Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri, Emmy nominee David Oyelowo, and "Queen Charlotte" breakout star India Amarteifio.

At Cannes, speaking in an interview at the American Pavilion presented by IndieWire, Arie Esiri addressed how the film parallels Woolf's postwar story with its portrait of contemporary Nigeria. "We say often [Nigerians] talk about politics like the British talk about the weather," he said. "I think that speaks to the consideration of Nigeria as a place, how we are evolving as a society, and it's hard to remove ourselves from that dialogue."

"Clarissa" is only the second Nigerian film to premiere at Cannes. The first was "My Father's Shadow," which went on to become the United Kingdom's submission last year. The Esiri brothers see their film as part of a broader shift in Nigerian cinema. "I think with the generation of filmmakers behind us, you see a film festival has started that showcases short films [in Nigeria]," said Chuko Esiri, who wrote the screenplay for the siblings' sophomore feature. "You now have artistically minded shorts being made by local filmmakers, and obviously the internet and streaming has changed everything, so we have filmmakers that are exposed to all sorts of movies."

The brothers position their work apart from Nollywood, the prolific industry Nigeria is known for. "[Nollywood] is something that I am not really interested in engaging with," said Arie Esiri. "On a societal level, I think we engage with Nigeria in very physical, material, and ideological ways, which makes its way into our films."

The December 11 theatrical release will test whether the Cannes reception for "Clarissa" — a Directors' Fortnight standout and Queer Palm contender on only the second Nigerian film ever to reach the Croisette — can translate into awards-season attention for its ensemble and its debut directors.