Neon has acquired worldwide rights to Clarissa, the latest feature from twin filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri.
Shot on 35mm across Lagos and Delta State, the film features an ensemble cast led by Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, India Amarteifio, Ayo Edebiri, Toheeb Jimoh and Nikki Amuka-Bird. Neon will handle the theatrical release in the United States, while Neon International will oversee foreign sales, according to Deadline.
Clarissa is a contemporary reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway. The story follows Clarissa, played by Okonedo, as she prepares to host a party at her Lagos home. Over the course of a single evening, she reconnects with friends from her past, prompting reflections on love, ambition and the choices that shaped her life.
Chuko Esiri wrote the screenplay, with both brothers directing and producing alongside Theresa Park of Per Capita Productions and Nicholas Weinstock of Invention Studios. Nina Gold and Thomas Bassett serve as co-producers. Executive producers include Okonedo, Dolly Omodolapo Kola-Balogun, Osahon Okunbo and Jason Reif.
The project follows the Esiris’ debut feature Eyimofe (This Is My Desire), which won multiple African Movie Academy Awards, secured international distribution through Janus Films and was later added to the Criterion Collection.
Financing for Clarissa was provided by Afreximbank’s CANEX Creations Inc., underscoring the increasing involvement of African financial institutions in film production across the continent.
Neon, which has amassed 18 Academy Award nominations in recent years, will add Clarissa to an upcoming slate that includes Oliver Laxe’s Sirat, Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.