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Lady film image; woman leaning out a car window

Canadian Premiere

Amidst a change in Nigeria’s sociopolitical tides, a young taxi driver reluctantly takes a side job chauffeuring a group of sex workers to their nocturnal visits across Lagos — one of whom is her childhood best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in years. As the driver gets to know the women and their stories, she must confront some of her own painful memories and attitudes, prompting her fiercely protective side to kick in.

Winner of the Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble at this year’s Sundance, Lady is at once a love letter to Lagos and an ode to unbreakable bonds of friendship and sisterhood. Anchored by Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah’s powerhouse lead performance, Olive Nwosu’s dazzling feature debut is a vibrant, textured drama brimming with feminine zest and cultural pride. Deftly moving between moments of introspection, camaraderie, and searing social commentary, Lady is punctuated with bursts of visual splendor and an underlying message of hope.

 

Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble: World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Sundance 2026

 

Media Partner

Director
Cast

Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemisey, Seun Kuti, Bucci Franklin

Credits
Country of Origin

UK/Nigeria

Year

2025

Language

In English and Pidgin English with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
93 min
Award Winners Black Cinema Drama Family Relations Women Directors
Ossian International

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Monday October 05

8:15 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Tuesday October 06

3:30 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Ama Ampadu, David Kimbangi, Ben Coren, Kieran Hannigan, Adrienne Becker, Brent Zachery, Abigail E. Disney, Demola Elebute, Oluseye Olusoga, Fikayo Adeola, Kamila Serkebaeva, Daniel Staut

Producer

Alex Polunin, John Giwa-Amu, Stella Nwimo

Screenwriter

Olive Nwosu

Cinematography

Alana Mejia Gonzalez

Editor

Colin Monie, Gareth C Scales

Production Design

Anti, Richard Evans

Original Music

Ollie Mayo

Olive Nwosu headshot

Olive Nwosu

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and currently splitting time between London and Lagos, Olive Nwosu is a filmmaker and storyteller. Her work is informed by the intersectional nature of her life across multiple continents and identities, with the goal of creating urgent, globally ambitious cinema through a 21st-century African lens. Nwosu’s short films include Troublemaker (2019), the first Igbo-language film on the Criterion Channel; and 2021’s Egúngún (Masquerade), which premiered at TIFF and screened at Sundance, winning multiple international awards. She is currently in development on further projects with BBC Film, Searchlight Pictures, and House Productions, among others.

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