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Sundance prizewinner and BAFTA nominee Akinola Davies Jr. is set to hit the Croisette with his buzzy debut feature “My Father’s Shadow,” a semi-autobiographical film featuring “Gangs of London” star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù that premieres in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section.
Set in the Nigerian megacity Lagos over the course of a single tumultuous day, the film follows a father and his two estranged sons as they travel across the chaotic metropolis while political unrest threatens their homeward journey. It features Dìrísù as Folarin, a hard-luck breadwinner trying to provide for his family, and breakout talents Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo as his two young boys.
The first Nigerian film in Cannes’ official selection, “My Father’s Shadow” is produced by Rachel Dargavel of “Poor Things” outfit Element Pictures and Funmbi Ogunbanwo for Lagos-based Fatherland Prods. It’s directed by Davies Jr. off a script he co-wrote with his brother, Wale, with both also serving as executive producers.
Mubi, which acquired the film ahead of its Cannes debut, is planning a theatrical release in North America and the U.K. The Match Factory is handling international sales.
The film begins on a pivotal June day in 1993, as Nigeria is eagerly awaiting the results of its first democratic election since the military coup that brought strongman General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida to power. The unofficial results suggest a victory for the opposition, leading millions of Nigerians to cling to the hope that a new day is dawning in the West African nation.
Folarin, played by Dìrísù, harbors his own hopes for a new Nigeria. But on that fateful day he’s on a more prosaic mission to collect several months’ of back wages from his employer in Lagos. With his wife out of town, he begrudgingly allows his sons to tag along, not knowing that the country is on the brink of an electoral crisis.
In the ensuing political drama, the filmmakers find echoes of Folarin’s own struggles to provide for his family, with Wale noting: “Your country is meant to…take care of you, almost like a father or mother would. But what happens when the promise of that is [shattered]?”
Newcomers to the screen, Chibuike Marvellous and Godwin Egbo bring natural chemistry to their roles as Remi and Akin. Taking the brothers under his wing, Dìrísù “fathered them on and off set,” so much so that by the end of the shoot, “they were always together,” says the director.
“My Father’s Shadow” marks the culmination of a long creative journey for the Davies brothers, beginning with a script Wale wrote more than a decade ago. Composed in the form of a letter to their late father — the writing of which Wale likens to “an out-of-body experience”— the screenplay evoked a “visceral emotional reaction” that reduced Akinola to tears.
After collaborating on the short film “Lizard,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and was nominated for a BAFTA, the duo decided to team up again, though Akinola insists he had to “convince” his brother to hand him the reins as director. Wale, lightly chiding his younger sibling, disagrees, saying Akinola was “the best person to convey” the emotions behind a story inspired by their shared family life.
A deeply personal journey, “My Father’s Shadow” is also a tribute to the rough charm and unexpected magic of Lagos, a city whose daily life, says Wale, often resembles a movie set.
“Everything looks like a film,” he says. “I could look on my street — there’s just always something exciting happening.”
English (US) ·