Clarissa

Drama

In cinemas 3mo later · Limited Dec 11, 2026 (US)

★ Shortlisted by Jen R, Mitch Allen

Programme: Special Presentations
Year: 2026
Runtime: 134 min
Country: Nigeria, United States of America
Language: Nigerian Pidgin / English
Premiere: North American Premiere
In cinemas: Dec 11, 2026 (US)

A modern reimagining of the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway. Follows society woman Clarissa as she prepares to host a party at her home in Lagos, Nigeria, where she will unexpectedly encounter once-intimate friends from her youth. As the group reflects on their shared past over the course of a single night, memories of their intricate relationships, passionate love, hidden desires, and lost aspirations give rise to bittersweet reckoning.

From the TIFF programme

Led by a stellar cast including Sophie Okonedo and David Oyelowo, filmmaking brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri’s second feature is a beguiling adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway set in contemporary Lagos.

Six years after their debut feature Eyimofe: This Is My Desire, brothers Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri have produced and directed a wonderful adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s classic 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway. Set in contemporary Nigeria, the film chronicles a high-society couple portrayed by the magnetic Sophie Okonedo as the titular Clarissa Dalloway and Jude Akuwudike as her husband Richard.

While preparing for a big reception, Clarissa recalls her teenage years (with the younger Clarissa played in these scenes by India Amarteifio). At that time, her heart was torn between Richard and Peter, a promising young writer (Toheeb Jimoh and touchingly played as an older man by David Oyelowo) who has suddenly reappeared in Clarissa’s life.

The harmful impacts of World War I are ingeniously transposed onto the fight against Boko Haram, which has been ravaging northern Nigeria since 2009. Septimus (Fortune Nwafor, impressive), a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, crosses paths with one of Clarissa’s guests who is distraught over what happened to him.

Abetted by Jonathan Bloom’s magnificent 35mm cinematography and meticulous attention to detail, and written by Chuku Esiri, who also scripted Eyimofe: This Is My Desire, Clarissa immerses us in a suspended moment in time — a time of introspection, existential crisis, and re-examination of the past. By choosing to focus on individual destinies rather than collective ones, the Esiri brothers offer us precious portraits in a unique and impressive style.

CLAIRE DIAO

Content advisory: depictions of suicide, violence