May 15, 2026 5:56am PT

Canex Creations Boss Talks Global Ambitions for African Film as Neon Drops First Look for Buzzy Cannes Premiere ‘Clarissa’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Christopher Vourlias

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Christopher Vourlias

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Canex Creations Boss Talks Global Ambitions for African Film as Neon Drops First Look for Buzzy Cannes Premiere ‘Clarissa’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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Arie and Chuko Esiri Courtesy of Peter Okosun

CANEX Creations CEO Osahon Akpata has outlined his strategic vision for how the pan-African institution can boost the profile of the continent’s filmmakers, while Neon has released a first-look image for the CANEX-backed “Clarissa,” the buzzy, Lagos-set adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” that premieres May 16 in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar.

Directed by Arie and Chuko Esiri and produced by the brothers alongside Theresa Park and Nicholas Weinstock, “Clarissa” stars Sophie Okonedo (“Hotel Rwanda”), David Oyelowo (“Selma”), India Amarteifio (“Queen Charlotte”), Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) and Toheeb Jimoh (“Ted Lasso”) in the story of a Lagos society woman hosting a gathering of once-intimate friends that becomes a bittersweet reckoning on their intricate relationships, passionate love, hidden desires and lost aspirations.

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