{"id":1062224,"date":"2026-07-01T17:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1062224\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T17:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:05:14","slug":"neons-clarissa-release-date-set-with-sophie-okonedo-ayo-edebiri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1062224\/","title":{"rendered":"Neon’s ‘Clarissa’ Release Date Set With Sophie Okonedo, Ayo Edebiri"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNeon<\/a> has given a prime release date to its Cannes breakout drama \u201cClarissa<\/a>,\u201d a reimagining of Virginia Woolf\u2019s \u201cMrs. Dalloway\u201d set in modern-day Lagos, and is debuting new images from the critically acclaimed movie, Variety can exclusively reveal.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe second feature from twin-brother directing duo Arie and Chuko Esiri, following their debut \u201cEyimofe (This Is My Desire),\u201d will open in select theaters on Dec. 11.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cClarissa\u201d premiered in the Directors\u2019 Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, becoming just the second Nigerian feature ever selected in the festival\u2019s history. Glowing reviews followed quickly, including from Jessica Kiang for Variety<\/a>, who found that Woolf\u2019s interior epic survives and thrives in its move from London to Lagos, placing \u201ca superb Sophie Okonedo<\/a>, radiant with melancholy\u201d at the heart of a remarkably well-cast ensemble.<\/p>\n

\n\tShot entirely in Nigeria, \u201cClarissa\u201d relocates Woolf\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the heart of the film is a pair of performances dividing the title role across the decades. Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo (\u201cHotel Rwanda\u201d) and breakout star India Amarteifio (Netflix\u2019s \u201cQueen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story\u201d) each play Clarissa at different points in her life, and both have drawn standout notices.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe surrounding ensemble, assembled by recent Academy Award-nominated casting director Nina Gold, features Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo, Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri and Emmy nominee Toheeb Jimoh, among others.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Esiri brothers directed the film based on a screenplay by Chuko. Per Capita Production\u2019s Theresa Park and Invention Studio\u2019s Nicholas Weinstock produced alongside the directors. Notable artisans include cinematographer Jonathan Bloom, editor Blair McClendon (\u201cAftersun\u201d), composer Kelsey Lu, costume designer Eniola Dawodu and production designer Hanrui Wang.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film rounds out a strong 2026 for Neon, which has won best picture twice in the last seven years, with Bong Joon Ho\u2019s \u201cParasite\u201d (2019) and Sean Baker\u2019s \u201cAnora\u201d (2024). Its slate includes the recently announced Luca Guadagnino drama \u201cArtificial\u201d with Andrew Garfield, in addition to Cristian Mungiu\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or winner \u201cFjord,\u201d James Gray\u2019s \u201cPaper Tiger\u201d and Ryusuke Hamaguchi\u2019s \u201cAll of a Sudden,\u201d the double-best actress prize winner at Cannes.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeon<\/p>\n

\n\tThe studio is also coming off a strong showing at the 98th Academy Awards earlier this year, where it landed best picture nominations for two non-English-language films. The Norwegian drama \u201cSentimental Value\u201d went on to win the best international feature award, while the Brazilian thriller \u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d also competed in the top category.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe December date plants \u201cClarissa\u201d in the center of awards season, handing Neon another contender.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neon has given a prime release date to its Cannes breakout drama \u201cClarissa,\u201d a reimagining of Virginia Woolf\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1062225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3935],"tags":[291550,77,3943,32591,291551,16,15],"class_list":["post-1062224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-clarissa","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-neon","tag-sophie-okonedo","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116845813865245609","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1062225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1062224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1062224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}