My Father’s Shadow

United Kingdom

MY FATHER'S SHADOW-UK

Country: United Kingdom / Nigeria / Ireland
Director: Akinola Davies Jr.
Writer: Wale Davies, Akinola Davies Jr.
Cast: Sope Dirisu, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, Godwin Egbo
Genre: Drama
Duration: 1h 34min (94min)
Language / Subtitles: English and Yoruba, with English subtitles
Year: 2025

On a sweltering summer day in the Country:side outside Lagos, in June 1993, bored brothers Remi and Akin are pleasantly surprised to see their usually absent father Folarin at home and even more surprised when he tells them to get dressed and accompany him on an urgent trip to Lagos. As the boys and their father make the journey to the city,  with tensions brewing over the results of the general election, they learn unnerving things about their father and his life past and present and find themselves in the middle of what will later be remembered as one of the most significant political moments in the history of the Country:, just trying to get back to their mother and home. Poetically realized with haunting imagery and bustling, vivid, angry life it’s a deeply personal film that’s a tribute not only to its creators’ own father but to all parents who daily face the struggles to keep their families alive and together at all costs in spite of the  broader social and political chaos erupting around them.

Selected at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a Caméra d’Or Special Mention. Winner of a BAFTA Film Award. The film was also the UK’s submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards.

“This spirit is what stirs “My Father’s Shadow” and fills the emotional space between the viewer and the screen. This is an enchanting film.” RobertEgbert.com

“A thrillingly vital account of the moment when everything changes.” – Screendaily

“It’s a transparently personal project and a coming-of-age film in its (traumatised) way, a moving account of how, just for one day, two young boys glimpse the real life and real history of their father who has been mostly absent for much of their lives – and how they come to love and understand him just at the moment when they come to see his flaws and his weaknesses.” – The Guardian

IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes IMDb: 7.3/10 • Rotten Tomatoes: 98%

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