Film
My Father’s Shadow (12A)
Dir. Akinola Davies Jr, UK/Nigeria, 2025, 98 mins. Nigerian Pidgin, Yoruba, English with English subtitles. Cast. Sopẹ́ Dìrísù, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, Godwin Egbo.
This extraordinary debut feature is both intimate and epic. A deeply personal family story set against the turbulence of 1993 Lagos during a pivotal national election promising a shift from military rule to democracy in Nigeria. When young brothers Remi and Akin unexpectedly accompany their oft-absent father to the city to collect his long-overdue salary, what unfolds is a rich journey through memory, masculinity, and a country on the cusp of fragile transformation.
Drawn loosely from Davies’ own experiences and co-written with his brother Wale, the film begins in rural quiet and gradually delves into urban disarray, as the boys try to make sense of their father, the city, and the shifting codes of a world they’ve barely known. What emerges is not a story of easy reconciliation, but of slow recognition — the difficult work of seeing someone clearly, perhaps for the first time, and finding something in them more profound than expected.
For detailed information about the film's age rating and content notices, you can visit the BBFC website and search the film title, then scroll down to the “Content Advice” section: www.bbfc.co.uk
This extraordinary debut feature is both intimate and epic. A deeply personal family story set against the turbulence of 1993 Lagos during a pivotal national election promising a shift from military rule to democracy in Nigeria. When young brothers Remi and Akin unexpectedly accompany their oft-absent father to the city to collect his long-overdue salary, what unfolds is a rich journey through memory, masculinity, and a country on the cusp of fragile transformation.
Drawn loosely from Davies’ own experiences and co-written with his brother Wale, the film begins in rural quiet and gradually delves into urban disarray, as the boys try to make sense of their father, the city, and the shifting codes of a world they’ve barely known. What emerges is not a story of easy reconciliation, but of slow recognition — the difficult work of seeing someone clearly, perhaps for the first time, and finding something in them more profound than expected.
For detailed information about the film's age rating and content notices, you can visit the BBFC website and search the film title, then scroll down to the “Content Advice” section: www.bbfc.co.uk
