MY FATHER’S SHADOW

Akinola Davies Jr.
United Kingdom/ Nigeria 2025 | Original version with English subtitles I 94 min

THU 13 NOV
18:30 FSK KINO

Lagos in the summer of 1993. Nigeria is shaken by a political crisis following the annulled presidential elections. Brothers Remi and Akin live with their mother outside Lagos. One day, their usually absent but idolized father Fola shows up at the family home and takes them on a spontaneous trip to Lagos. Fola wants to collect his outstanding wages before the political order collapses. The trip, which turns into an odyssey, will remain unforgettable for the boys—not least because they come to understand their father’s past and experience real life…

This moving semi-autobiographical drama, which is also a love letter to the Nigerian metropolis Lagos, won the Caméra d’Or in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.

AKINOLA DAVIES JR. was born in London and grew up in Lagos and the United States. After graduating from the New York Film Academy in 2009, he produced music videos and commercials for brands such as Gucci, Acne Studios, Moncler, Kenzo, Mulberry, and Louis Vuitton.

His 2020 short film LIZARD, inspired by his childhood in Nigeria, won the Grand Jury Prize for Short Film at the Sundance Film Festival 2021 and was nominated for Best British Short Film at the 2021 BAFTA Awards.
MY FATHER’S SHADOW is his feature film directorial debut. The screenplay was written in collaboration with his brother Wale Davies.