In a first for Nigeria’s booming film industry, “My Father’s Shadow” has earned a coveted spot in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard lineup, drawing praise for its intimate storytelling and sun-drenched Lagos backdrop.
Directed by siblings Akinola and Wale Davies, the drama imagines a single day spent with the father they lost too young. Shot entirely on location in Lagos, the film unfolds in 1993 against the backdrop of Nigeria’s annulled presidential election, weaving personal grief into a nation’s suspended dreams.
“Point a camera at anything in Lagos, and it’s cinematic,” says Akinola Davies. “For me, the city’s chaos feels alive and poetic.”
The idea took root more than a decade ago, when Wale—then a novice screenwriter—sent his first script to a young Akinola. Reading it, Akinola wrote back that he wept at its simple power: the chance to conjure the father both brothers barely knew. That emotional spark carried the project from script to screen, guided by Nigerian-born stars Chibuike and Godwin Egbo as the boys, and British-Nigerian actor Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as their elusive father.
“My Father’s Shadow” marks the first Nigerian feature in Cannes’ official selection—and it inspired the festival’s debut Nigerian national pavilion. Local technicians, many plucked from Lagos’s vibrant Nollywood community, handled every role behind the camera. Their presence underlines a broader truth: Nigerian filmmakers and crews possess world‑class skill and vision.
“This achievement shows our stories belong anywhere great cinema is celebrated,” Davies notes. “It’s a testament to the talent that already thrives back home.”
Set on the day Gen. Ibrahim Babangida declined to honour the results of the 1993 presidential vote, the film stitches private loss to public rupture. As the boys uproot from their family home to explore the city, viewers glimpse both a father reborn in 16‑millimeter grain and a country frozen in political limbo.
Akinola, named after his father, explains that the screenplay draws on memory, dream and the stories their mother told. “We had to sift through what we thought we remembered,” he says, “to build a portrait both honest and cinematic.”
With North American rights snapped up by Mubi, “My Father’s Shadow” promises to carry its distinctly Nigerian voice to new audiences. Back home, its success has already sparked celebrations—from enthusiasts of art-house cinema to proud Nollywood insiders.
As Akinola Davies reflects on Cannes, he finds that filmmaking has become its own kind of healing. “We thought we’d done our grieving,” he says. “But telling this story reminded me how art can help us remember—and move forward.”
