People
Arie ESIRI
1Films
1Festival entries
Biography
Twin brothers born 30 minutes apart in Warri, Nigeria, Arie and Chuko Esiri were raised through a split upbringing — attending boarding school in England from the age of eight and returning to Nigeria during holidays. Having invented stories together since childhood, the two later became creative partners in filmmaking. Their feature debut, This Is My Desire (2020), which they co-produced, wrote, and directed, delicately captured the longing for emigration among Lagos′s working class and premiered at the Berlinale, where it was nominated for Best First Feature. Their second feature, arriving six years later, Clarissa, reimagines Virginia Woolf′s Mrs. Dalloway against a Lagos backdrop, starring Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, and Ayo Edebiri. The film had its world premiere to a rapturous standing ovation at the 2026 Cannes Directors′ Fortnight and was acquired by distributor Neon, establishing the brothers as leading new voices in Nigerian cinema.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
