Neon, the award-winning studio behind some of the most daring and celebrated films of the last nine years, announced today it has acquired worldwide rights to twin filmmakers’ Arie and Chuko Esiri’s (“Eyimofe” (“This Is My Desire”)) latest feature, “Clarissa.” The film, which was shot on 35mm film in Lagos and Delta State, Nigeria, stars Sophie Okonedo (“Hotel Rwanda”), David Oyelowo (“Selma”), India Amarteifio (“Queen Charlotte”), Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”), and Toheeb Jimoh (“Ted Lasso”, “Industry”). Neon International will represent the film for foreign sales and Neon will release the film theatrically in the US.

In a modern reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s celebrated novel Mrs. Dalloway, society woman Clarissa (Okonedo) 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.

The screenplay was written by Chuko Esiri and the film is jointly directed and produced by Arie and Chuko alongside producers Theresa Park for Per Capita Productions and Nicholas Weinstock for Invention Studios. Co-producers include Academy Award–nominated Nina Gold and Thomas Bassett and executive producers include Sophie Okonedo, Dolly Omodolapo Kola-Balogun, Osahon Okunbo, and Jason Reif. Production financing for filming in Nigeria was provided entirely by Africa-based Afreximbank’s CANEX Creations Inc. (CANEX) and MBO Capital. The acquisition and distribution deal was negotiated by Neon’s Director of Acquisitions, Development & Production Kate Gondwe and UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.

Arie and Chuko Esiri were born in Warri, Nigeria and grew up in Lagos. They’re creative partners who share an incredible passion for storytelling. Their debut feature “Eyimofe” (“This Is My Desire”), which they produced, wrote and directed premiered to universal acclaim at Berlinale and went on to win five African Movie Academy Awards. The film was released by Janus Films and is now part of the Criterion Collection

Okonedo is an acclaimed British actor best known for her Academy Award–nominated performance in “Hotel Rwanda,” as well as standout roles in television hits including “The Wheel of Time” and “Slow Horses.” She won a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Oyelowo is a Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Emmy-nominated actor and producer who first made his directorial debut with the critically-acclaimed film “The Water Man.” Recent projects include “Bass Reeves,” “Silo,” and “Government Cheese.” He co-founded MANSA, the free streaming platform for curated diaspora focused content, and has also established a Leadership Scholarship to fully fund the education and rehabilitation of girls who have been directly affected by terrorism in Nigeria.

Edebiri is an Emmy, SAG, Critics Choice, and Golden Globe Award–winning actor, writer, producer, director, and comedian, currently starring in “The Bear,” for which she also made her directorial debut with. She will soon make her Broadway debut in the revival of “Proof” and is set to write the screenplay for the upcoming live-action Barney film. Other recent credits include “After the Hunt” and “Inside Out 2.”

Amarteifio is best known for her critically acclaimed performance as Charlotte in Netflix’s “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” for Shonda Rhimes. Her work earned her the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, while the show amassed over 148 million hours of global viewing in its first week and remains one of Netflix’s most-watched series of all time. Most recently, India filmed the miniseries “The Rapture” for the BBC. Other previous credits include “The Midwich Cuckoos,” “The Tunnel,” and “Sex Education.”

Jimoh is a Critics’ Choice and SAG Award–winning actor currently starring in “Industry”. Jimoh was Emmy-nominated for his breakout performance as Sam Obisanya in “Ted Lasso”. He made his feature film debut in “The French Dispatch,” led the BAFTA-praised drama “Anthony,” and is celebrated for his acclaimed work on stage, including as Rebecca Frecknall’s “Romeo” and opposite Ian McKellan for “Robert Icke.” Next, he will star alongside Cynthia Erivo in “Prima Facie.”

Okonedo is represented by CAA and Curtis Brown Group. Oyelowo by CAA and Hamilton Hodell. Edebiri by CAA and Entertainment 360. Amarteifio by UTA and B-Side Management. Jimoh by WME and B-Side Management. The Esiris by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Last month, Neon received 18 Oscar nominations as part of the 98th Academy Awards, the second most for any motion picture studio. Building on this momentum, Neon’s 2026 slate of recent and upcoming releases include Oliver Laxe’s “Sirat” releasing February 6, Matt Johnson’s “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” releasing February 13; Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” releasing February 20; Genki Kawamura’s “Exit 8,” releasing April 10, Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers;” Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters,” which is set to open SXSW this year; and Damian McCarthy’s “Hokum” starring Adam Scott.

About Neon
In only nine years, Neon has garnered 57 Academy Award nominations (18 this year), 11 total wins (5 last year), including two Best Picture wins, and this year earned a historic 21 Golden Globe nominations, the most of any motion picture studio this year. The company continues to push boundaries and take creative risks on bold cinema such as Sean Baker’s Anora, which recently took home five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and was released in theaters to the highest per-screen average of 2024; as well as Bong Joon Ho’sParasite, which made history winning four Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim Best Picture, and grossed over $54M at the domestic box office.

Neon has built an impressive streak winning the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, with six consecutive wins, including this most recent year’s winner “It Was Just an Accident” from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, as well as “Anora,” “Parasite,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Titane,” and “Triangle of Sadness.” In 2024, Neon was named The Hollywood Reporter’s Independent Studio of the Year and received the Clio Award for Studio of the Year.

As a burgeoning leader in the production space, Neon’s recent and upcoming in-house productions include: David Robert Mitchell’s “They Follow” starring Maika Monroe; the highly anticipated “Boots Riley feature I Love Boosters” starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, and Eiza González; “The Wrong Girls” starring Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat; Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo” starring Hunter Schafer; and Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool.” Neon’s international sales outfit handles the company’s in-house titles as well as third party projects.

Neon has amassed a library of over 120 films, with a noteworthy selection of Academy Award nominated films including: Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days”; “Robot Dreams” from Pablo Bergfeer; documentaries “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “Fire of Love,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “Flee,” which made history becoming the first film to score an impressive trifecta of Oscar nominations; Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in The World”; and Craig Gillespie’s “I, Tonya.”