Neon has given a prime release date to its Cannes breakout drama “Clarissa,” a reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” set in modern-day Lagos, and is debuting new images from the critically acclaimed movie, Variety can exclusively reveal.
The second feature from twin-brother directing duo Arie and Chuko Esiri, following their debut “Eyimofe (This Is My Desire),” will open in select theaters on Dec. 11.
“Clarissa” premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, becoming just the second Nigerian feature ever selected in the festival’s history. Glowing reviews followed quickly, including from Jessica Kiang for Variety, who found that Woolf’s interior epic survives and thrives in its move from London to Lagos, placing “a superb Sophie Okonedo, radiant with melancholy” at the heart of a remarkably well-cast ensemble.
Shot entirely in Nigeria, “Clarissa” relocates Woolf’s single-day London narrative to a contemporary African metropolis. The story centers on Clarissa, a society woman preparing to host a party at her Lagos home, where she unexpectedly reunites with once-intimate friends from her youth. Across a single night, the group revisits a shared past, surfacing memories of passionate love, hidden desire and lost ambition that build toward a bittersweet reckoning.
