Clarissa Showcase © Courtesy of Elevation Pictures
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Over one day in Lagos, a society hostess prepares to throw a party — but the past refuses to stay politely outside the room. In Clarissa, twin Nigerian filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri transpose Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway into a city of traffic, privilege, memory, and political unease. Sophie Okonedo plays the titular character with restraint opposite a star-studded Black cast that includes David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, and India Amarteifio.
Following their celebrated debut Eyimofe, the Esiris craft an adaptation that highlights an alertness to literature, place, and style. Shot on 35mm, with music by Kelsey Lu, Clarissa is an utterly gorgeous feat of design, rhythm, and cinematic poise. Its non-linear construction bridges the protagonist’s high-society present with the memory of her younger self, while interiors, clothes, flowers, architecture, and party preparations uncover facets of Clarissa’s identity. A premiere in this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, the film turns one woman’s day into a spectacular Nigerian vision of class performance, lost possibility, and the lives people carry inside them.
Following their celebrated debut Eyimofe, the Esiris craft an adaptation that highlights an alertness to literature, place, and style. Shot on 35mm, with music by Kelsey Lu, Clarissa is an utterly gorgeous feat of design, rhythm, and cinematic poise. Its non-linear construction bridges the protagonist’s high-society present with the memory of her younger self, while interiors, clothes, flowers, architecture, and party preparations uncover facets of Clarissa’s identity. A premiere in this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, the film turns one woman’s day into a spectacular Nigerian vision of class performance, lost possibility, and the lives people carry inside them.
