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
Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemisey, Seun Kuti, Bucci Franklin
UK/Nigeria
2025
In English and Pidgin English with English subtitles
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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
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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