Lady

Opening Film - Nordic Premiere 

Monday 7.9. at 19.30 Tent 
Wednesday 9.9. at 21, Alō 

Fiction, 2026, UK, Nigeria

Director and screenwriter: Olive Nwosu
Duration: 1h 33 min
Themes: Lagos, friendship, sex work
Language: English, Nigerian Pidgin; subtitles not announced
Age rating: 12

Karhupuisto Film Festival's opening film takes us to Nigeria's gigantic Lagos, home to up to twenty million inhabitants. Its dusty streets are navigated by Lady, one of the city's only female taxi drivers.

Having built a tough exterior around herself, Lady is saving money to finally leave the dust of the metropolis behind. Her old friend Pinky re-enters the picture as a sex worker and invites Lady to become the driver for her group of friends from the industry. Initial suspicions fade as Lady sees herself and her past in a new light.

Director Olive Nwosu has called Lagos a city of blinding sun and deep shadows. The film Lady was born from Nwosu's desire to find a new connection to her childhood hometown. Nwosu, who studied in New York and lives in London, prepared for the film by walking around Lagos for months and talking with real sex workers.

Despite Nigerian Jessica Gabriel's Ujah's outstanding lead role, Lady is first and foremost a prominent ensemble film. The cast, consisting of fresh newcomers, received a joint award at Sundance, where the film had its world premiere in January.

Other credits: 

Starring: Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Seun Kuti, Bucci Franklin
Cinematography: Alana Mejia Gonzalez
Production Design: Richard Evans
Costume Design: Patience Adaugo Ezeogo
Makeup and Hair Design: Amarachi Joan Akalazu
Editing: Colin Monie, Gareth C Scales
Producers: Alex Polunin, John Giwa-Amu, Stella Nwimo
Production Companies: Osian International, Good Gate