Miss Flicks

My Father’s Shadow: Film Africa 2025 review

Akinola Davies Jr.‘s feature directorial debut, My Father’s Shadow, leads this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), and it’s clear to see why. What a subtly affecting film!

Set during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, absent father Fola (Sope Dirisu) returns home to his village before departing again for Lagos. This time around, he invites his sons Akinola and Olaremi (real-life brothers Godwin and Chibuike Marvelous Egbo) to join him. When he goes to his workplace to demand his wages after six months without pay, he is told to come back that evening, so they spend the day together in the city.

Naturally, Lagos is a huge culture shock for the boys after being raised in the rural village. The hustle and bustle, the sheer amount of people, traffic and things going on, not to mention the political unrest bubbling under the surface as the country awaits the results of a presidential election after 10 years under military rule.

The trio do a variety of activities together like swimming, going to the fun fair and trying different foods. Over the course of the day, the boys (aged 8 and 11) develop a better understanding of their father as a person and more insight into his life in Lagos. They also feel compelled to confront him about why he’s always away working when he says he loves them and their mother so much. After a leisurely and meandering two-thirds, the final act becomes very intense after the results of the election come in, sparking uproar in the streets.

Like Aki and Remi, we slowly learn more about Fola too. He’s very much an enigmatic character for most of the film, but we gradually discover details about his life, history and situation. You’re only given the bare minimum to work with – Davies Jr. doesn’t reveal very much – but it’s enough. I would have liked to know more but the story is told through the eyes of the boys, and Fola obviously isn’t going to tell them everything. He just wants them to know that he loves them very much and is never home because he’s providing for them (how true this is, we can’t be sure).

The boys are absolute gems, and Dirisu’s performance is quietly heartbreaking. He puts on a positive face for his sons and insists he’s okay, but you can tell that he’s deeply unhappy in private. He obviously has a lot going on and is trying to keep a lid on it for the sake of his kids.

My Father’s Shadow, the UK’s entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, is a rich and subtle film about the trade-off between working hard to take care of your family and never being at home with them. It’s obviously an incredibly personal project for Davies Jr, who co-wrote this with his brother Wale Davies.

The film will open the Film Africa 2025 festival, which takes place in London between 14th and 23rd November. It will be released in cinemas in February 2026.