Akinola Davies Jr’s debut feature, ‘My Father’s Shadow’, has earned a historic spot at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival—becoming the first Nigerian film ever selected to screen at the prestigious event. The film will premiere in Un Certain Regard, a section of the official Cannes selection known for spotlighting bold, original voices and distinct cinematic perspectives from around the world.
Set against the backdrop of the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, ‘My Father’s Shadow’ follows two young brothers as they navigate the bubbling, chaotic city of Lagos alongside their estranged father. What begins as a tentative reunion turns into a powerful exploration of identity, memory, and survival, as political tensions loom over their journey home.
Davies Jr, a British-Nigerian filmmaker known for his textured, poetic visual language, whose film, ‘Lizard’, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance festival. He co-wrote the script with his brother Wale Davies, Sony Music’s A&R head and manager to Grammy Award-winning artist Tems. It was produced by Rachel Dargavel and Funmbi Ogunbanwo. The film stars Sope Dirisu (‘Gangs of London’, ‘His House’), who also serves as producer, alongside Nigerian talents Uzoamaka Aniunoh and Winifred Efon.
Aniunoh brings festival pedigree to the project, having starred in C.J. Obasi’s ‘Mami Wata’, which premiered at Sundance in 2023, and ‘The Weekend’, directed by Daniel Oriahi, which screened at Tribeca in 2024.
Shot over four months in Lagos, ‘My Father’s Shadow’ was brought to life through an international collaboration involving BBC Film, the British Film Institute, Fremantle, Electric Theatre Collective, and streaming platform Mubi. Production companies Element Pictures (‘The Favourite’), Crybaby, and We Are Fatherland (Davies’ own banner) shepherded the project from script to screen.
The Un Certain Regard section, established in 1978, runs parallel to Cannes’ main competition and is known for celebrating fresh and daring voices in filmmaking. Past Un Certain Regard titles have gone on to become critical successes and award-season contenders, making the section a launchpad for breakthrough international talent.
For Nigeria, this selection represents a watershed moment: a signal that stories deeply rooted in the country’s lived experience are now part of the global cinematic conversation.
With ‘My Father’s Shadow’, Akinola Davies Jr not only carves a space for Nigerian cinema on one of the world’s most revered stages—he invites the world to see Lagos, and Nigerian history, through a lens of intimacy, complexity, and undeniable beauty.
