has released the trailer for Clarissa, an upcoming drama that brings old friends back together for an evening filled with memories, unresolved feelings, and difficult revelations.
Clarissa
- Director: Chuko Esiri
- Starring: Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, India Ria Amarteifio, Ayo Edebiri, Toheeb Jimoh, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Jude Akuwudike, Kehinde Cardoso
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 134 mins
Set in Lagos, Nigeria, the film centers on Clarissa, a prominent member of society who is preparing to welcome guests into her home. What should be an ordinary social gathering takes an unexpected turn when people from her younger years arrive, bringing decades of history with them.
A Night Filled With Old Memories
As the evening unfolds, Clarissa and her former friends are forced to revisit the lives they once shared.
Their conversations and memories reach back to a time marked by close friendships, passionate relationships, secret desires, and dreams that never quite became reality. What emerges is a complicated portrait of people looking back at the choices that shaped who they eventually became.
For Clarissa, reconnecting with these people means confronting pieces of her own past that may have been easier to leave behind.
Rather than unfolding across years, the drama brings much of its emotional weight into a single night, allowing old relationships and buried feelings to gradually surface as the gathering continues.
Cast
Clarissa stars:
- Sophie Okonedo as Clarissa
- Ayo Edebiri as Young Sally
- David Oyelowo as Peter
- India Amarteifio as Young Clarissa
- Toheeb Jimoh as Young Peter
- Fortune Nwafor as Septimus
The combination of present-day characters and younger versions allows the story to explore how the people in Clarissa’s life have changed—and what remains from the relationships they once shared.
Behind the Film
Clarissa is directed by Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri, who bring the story to the screen against the backdrop of Lagos.
With its focus on relationships, memory, desire, and lost possibilities, the film looks to deliver a character-driven drama centered on the emotional consequences of reconnecting with the past.
Clarissa appears to be the kind of drama where the biggest revelations don’t necessarily come from what happens during the party, but from what the characters remember—and what they have spent years trying to forget.
With Sophie Okonedo leading a cast that includes Ayo Edebiri and David Oyelowo, the film offers a story about friendship, love, and the complicated process of looking back at the people we once were.
The trailer for Clarissa is now available, with the film coming soon from Elevation Pictures.
