My Father’s Shadow (Drama)
Director: Akinola Davies Jr
Producer: Rachel Dargavel,Funmbi Ogunbanwo
Screenwriter: Wale Davies,Akinola Davies Jnr
Cinematographer: Jermaine Edwards
Composer: CJ Mirra,Duval Timothy
Editor: Omar Guzman
Production Designer: Pablo Bruhn,Jennifer Boyd
Costume Designer: PC Williams
Key Cast: Akerele David,Winifred Efon,Owa Orire Jeremiah,Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù,Patrick Diabuah,Olarotimi Fakunle,Adesina Babalola,Greg “Teddy Bear” Ojefua,Tosin Adeyemi,Marta Ehinome,Godwin Egbo,Chibuike Marvellous Egbo,Uzoamaka Aniunoh,Ayo Lijadu
In the first Nigerian film to premiere at Cannes, a father tenderly reconnects with his young sons during a momentous day under the Lagos sun.
Remi and his younger brother Aki (played respectively by impressive siblings Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo) are shooting the breeze, waiting for their mother to return home from the village, when they are shocked by the unexpected arrival of their often-absent father, Folarin (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Gangs of London) – a towering but tender man whose deep love for his sons requires difficult compromises. On a determined mission to hunt down unpaid wages, he decides to take them on a long journey to the sprawling metropolis of Lagos. The day that unfolds, in the shadow of the violently contested 1993 election, will dramatically reshape the boys’ future.
The semi-autobiographical debut feature of Nigerian-born, London-based filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr – co-written with his brother Wale Davies, who first developed the idea for the film – draws deeply from the well of memory. Fictionalising a fraught real-life period in Nigeria’s democratic history, the film honours the sacrifices family often requires while dispelling damaging myths around Black masculinity. Selected to play in Un Certain Regard at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, this luminous offering received a Caméra d’Or – Special Mention.
“Elegant and stirring … deftly connects the broken promises of the nation state with the fragility of the family at the centre of his story.” – The Hollywood Reporter