Clarissa, the Lagos-set feature from Nigerian-born filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri, has received four nominations at the 2026 Gotham Awards, one of the leading honours for independent film in the United States.
The Gotham, which runs the awards, announced the nominees for its 36th edition on 27 October. Clarissa is one of five films tied for the most nominations, with four each, alongside All of a Sudden, La Gradiva, The Invite and Tender Loving Care.
The film is nominated for Best Feature, with the Esiri brothers credited as directors and producers alongside Theresa Park and Nicholas Weinstock. Chuko Esiri is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Sophie Okonedo for Outstanding Lead Performance and India Amarteifio for Breakthrough Performer. The winners will be announced on Monday, 30 November, in New York.
Clarissa moves Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway to present-day Lagos, following a society hostess preparing for a party who is reunited with friends from her youth. The film had its world premiere in May at the Directors' Fortnight, the independent section that runs alongside the Cannes Film Festival, which notes that the brothers were born in Warri and grew up in Lagos. The cast also includes David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, Toheeb Jimoh and Fortune Nwafor.
The Critics Choice Association also lists Arie and Chuko Esiri as recipients of its Breakthrough Director Award, to be presented at its Celebration of Black Cinema & Television in Los Angeles on 16 November. NEON is the film's distributor.
- Primary sourceGotham Awards 36th edition nominations (27 Oct 2026): Clarissa four nominations, five films tied; ceremony 30 Nov
- Primary sourceDirectors' Fortnight: Clarissa, adaptation of Mrs Dalloway set in Lagos; directors born in Warri; cast; 2026 world premiere
- Primary sourceCritics Choice Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, 16 Nov 2026: Breakthrough Director Award, Arie and Chuko Esiri
