“This handsomely shot semi-autobiographical tale can’t quite escape its episodic nature to make a broader point.”

Despite having one of the largest film industries in the world, it has taken Nigerian cinema until 2025 to find its way into the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival. On the heels of his Sundance-winning and BAFTA-nominated short Lizard, Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. finally puts the country on the illustrious map with his debut feature My Father’s Shadow, a coming-of-age story set against the hotly contested 1993 elections. Revolving around a father facing the demons of his past as he takes his two young sons on an odyssey through the city, this handsomely shot semi-autobiographical tale can’t quite escape its episodic nature to make a broader point, but remains convincing enough as a first taste of Nigerian cinema.

Young brothers Olaremi and Akinola (played by newcomers, and brothers, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo) get a happy surprise when their estranged father Folarin (Sope Dirisu) shows up and announces he will take his sons to Lagos for the day while he runs some errands. It will be the boys’ first time in the country’s bustling metropolis, so excitement is high, despite their worry over not having gotten permission from their mother. Once in the city, their dad keeps running into friends who greet him with enthusiasm, but the nature of their relationships remains vague. Folarin tries to keep his sons away from these conversations, while the men keep referring to him as Kapo. Folarin’s mission is to get his pay for a job he executed, but the nature of that job too remains unclear. It’s a tense time in Lagos, as elections are ongoing and results could come in at any moment. While the boys are wide-eyed in their excitement, the older Remi starts to get suspicious of his dad, especially when Folarin sneaks off with a waitress at a bar. But his suspicions of infidelity turn out to be unfounded: when the military junta announces the election results have been annulled and all hell breaks loose, the true reasons for his dad’s strange behavior come into focus. Can he get his sons away from the eruption of violence that takes hold of the city?

Shot on film, My Father’s Shadow has the look and feel of the era it is set in, but its story of a father trying to protect his children and impart his wisdom to them is timeless. While the meetings with various city dwellers tend to get repetitive and mostly serve to heighten the mystery of Folarin’s past (it is clear he was involved in something political and potentially violent, but its full nature remains shrouded until the film’s final moments), the reveal of a demon closer to his heart in a one-on-one with the older Remi delivers the film’s most heartfelt and powerful scene. It is in Folarin’s barely withheld emotions that Dirisu as the protective father reaches the apex of a simmering performance. Dirisu’s emotions are in his eyes, and Davies Jr. is wise to keep it simple and fix his gaze on Dirisu’s face. Co-written with his brother Wale, this intimate scene feels closest to the director’s heart, like a memory of their own father. Taken as a whole My Father’s Shadow has a lot going for it, but repeats itself a little too often; perhaps the personal connection was too strong to do a little culling in the screenplay. Davies Jr. certainly has the talent and a confident enough hand as a director, so this might not be his, and Nigeria’s, last trip to the South of France.