'My Father's Shadow': A Beacon of Hope for Nollywood

A handful of films have revisited Nigeria’s defining moments and figures, but too often they read like history textbooks or Wikipedia pages – stiff, aloof, almost archival. My Father’s Shadow, a semi-autobiographical drama by Akinola Davies Jr., defies that detachment, weaving collective national hurt into more personal and familial wounds. It is one of those films that leave you sitting in the dimly-lit theatre long after the credits, pondering what you have just seen, up until the usher kicks you out.

That this is Akinola Davies Jr.'s feature-length directorial debut may require an IMDb double-take, given the deftness with which he blurs the lines between fiction and reality. It leans heavily on its sound design and its slow-burn montages – sometimes overwhelmingly so – but its vitality depends on the droning ambiance as fish do water.

My Father's Shadow is Nigeria's first Cannes selection and was recipient of the Camera d'Or Special Mention at this year’s festival. Akinola's autofiction radiates simplicity and intentionality, two features that are largely absent in Nollywood's recent film history. One could argue that these qualities easily stem from true-to-life stories like the one at the center of the film, and another could retort that such earnest stories are practically begging to be relayed to the ears of willing Nigerians. However, this film has the additional layer of “making it” to international audiences, and as such, its reputation precedes it. 

Written by sibling duo Wale and Akinola Davies, the film follows Folarin (Sope Dirisu), and his two sons Akinola (Godwin Egbo) and Olaremi (Chibuike Marvelous Egbo) as they travel through Lagos over the course of a day amidst the tensions and terrors of the 1993 Nigerian presidential elections. In this manner, My Father’s Shadow climbs beyond being a melancholic album of moving pictures, serving as  a poignant reminder of the travesty that was the 1990s Nigerian political space and how much bare progress has taken place since.

From the start, Akinola places his audience right in the heart of Lagos and everything that defines it – street begging, thuggery, disgruntled employees, absent fathers, clubbing, and despair – all of which would feel right at home in a film set in December of 2025. It could in fact be mistaken for a sly ode to the city if a random five-minute sequence was clipped and screened to a test audience, emphasizing the intention to tell it as it is, despite the deeply personal nature of the film to the director. 

Much of this is captured masterfully through the naive yet inquisitive vibrant eyes of the incredibly-talented Egbo brothers – the stars of the show – who deliver some of the best child acting from the industry in a while, portraying the banter typical of brothers coming-of-age with the guile and authenticity of on-screen greats. The film employs a rather scarce ensemble, leaving much of the weight to the chemistry between the family of three. 

My Father’s Shadow is a subtle emotional rollercoaster of fatherhood, family, love and national struggle. For the young, it is a foundational history lesson on a momentous day in Nigeria’s history, and for the much older, a stroll down the lane of dashed hopes in a country that has continued to tread the same path for 32 years. At a point where the Nigerian film industry often seems to be at sixes and sevens, My Father’s Shadow lights a torch of promise hoping to withstand extinction, just like the 1993 elections it is set against. Akinola Davies Jr. and fellow debutant, cinematographer Jermaine Edwards have managed to create a stunning debut feature and one of the finest African films of its time.

My Father’s Shadow is currently showing in Nigerian theatres nationwide. It will make its U.S. debut in October at Mill Valley and Chicago film festivals.

-Nicholas