By: Sahra M.
At the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, Clarissa brings Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway into Lagos, Nigeria, offering a new interpretation of the classic story through a Nigerian lens. Directed by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri, Clarissa stars Sophie Okonedo as Clarissa, with David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh and an ensemble cast bringing the story to life. The film follows Clarissa as she prepares to host a party in Lagos, while memories of her past, relationships and choices begin to resurface. Like Woolf’s original novel, the story moves between the present and the characters’ memories, but the Esiri brothers relocate the narrative from 1920s London to present day Nigeria.
For Special Sense Magazine, I spoke with British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo about what drew him to the project and what went through his mind when he first read the screenplay.
“I was shocked that the script existed,” Oyelowo told Special Sense. He described the experience of reading the screenplay as emotional, because of how much of the story felt progressive to him. Having spent part of his childhood in Nigeria, Oyelowo also connected with seeing a story like this set in the country where he grew up. What caught his attention was how the screenplay reimagined Woolf’s story. Rather than simply retell Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa takes the foundation of the novel and sets it in Lagos. For Oyelowo, the combination made the decision easy. He told Special Sense that so much of what he read in the script resonated with him, and he knew he wanted to be part of the film.
The adaptation is one of the film’s most compelling elements. Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, first published in 1925, follows Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares for a party while reflecting on her past, relationships and the choices that brought her to life today. The Esiri brothers take those themes and reconstruct them within Lagos.
The film also moves between generations. India Amarteifio plays the younger Clarissa, while Toheeb Jimoh portrays the younger Peter, the character played in the present day by Oyelowo. Ayo Edebiri appears as young Sally, with Sophie Okonedo, Fortune Nwafor, Nikki Amuka-Bird and other members of the ensemble rounding out the cast.
Following their debut feature Eyimofe (This Is My Desire), Arie and Chuko Esiri turn to one of the most recognized works of twentieth-century literature with Clarissa, giving the story a new setting in Lagos.
Speaking with producer Theresa Park, president of Per Capita Productions and a producer of Bones and All and After Yang, I also wanted to understand what made her want to become involved in the project. When the filmmakers’ agents first approached her with the idea of adapting Mrs. Dalloway and setting the story in Nigeria, Park immediately saw the possibilities. The concept of taking a 1925 novel and creating a contemporary Nigerian interpretation struck her as audacious. She described the screenplay as ambitious, beautiful and graceful, and saw the project as an opportunity to approach a classic work from an entirely different perspective.
When I asked Park what she enjoyed most about working on the film and what she found most difficult as a producer, she pointed to financing. Park explained that securing financing for a film that did not fit conventional Hollywood expectations was difficult. The production was going to be set and shot in Africa, and she described the hesitation among Hollywood financiers to invest in a project like this as one of the biggest obstacles the team encountered. The production ultimately found partners in Nigeria and was able to maintain the film’s Nigerian setting and creative vision.
Clarissa was shot on 35mm in Lagos and Delta State, Nigeria. Production financing for filming in Nigeria was provided entirely by Africa-based institutions, led by CANEX Creations alongside MBO Capital. That journey is an important part of the film itself. Clarissa is not simply a matter of moving Mrs. Dalloway from one location to another. It is a reinterpretation of Woolf’s themes through a different culture, generation and reality.
At the center of Clarissa is a story about memory, love, identity and the passage of time, reimagined through Lagos.
Sahra Mohamed
Editor-in-Chief, Special Sense Magazine
