• Super Admin
• 07 Mar, 2026

Two brothers recall their father and the day in 1993 that had major repercussions for post-colonial Nigeria The first Nigerian film to be officially selected at the Cannes Film Festival - having premiered in the Un Certain Regard section last year - Akinola Davies Jr.'s semi-autobiographical drama My Father's Shadow is both personal and political, sober and heartwarming. Inspired by their relationship with their father, the director wrote the film with his brother Wale Davies, described by lead actor Sopé Dìrísù in an interview with The Guardian, as a "fantastical, pseudo-biographical piece of work about grief and loss and family, fatherhood, masculinity, connection and absence." Dìrísù plays Folarin, the father of two boys, Remi and Akin, who almost wish him into existence when they are bored alone at home after their mother leaves for the day. Fola has to travel to Lagos to claim several months of back pay from the factory where he works and takes the boys along. However, the day they choose to make the trip is 24 June 1993 - the day that country's military leader, Ibrahim Babangide, annulled the results of elections held ten days earlier in which popular left-wing politician M. K. O. Abiola had beaten Babangide's candidate, Bashir Tofa. The journey is fraught with challenges as they traverse a country on the brink of crisis. Protests about escalating fuel prices, the background of the election campaign, and the simmering potential of political violence consuming the city. "Nigeria is hard," Folarin tells his sons. Played by real-life brothers Chibuike and Godwin Egbo, Remi and Akin clearly adore their father, despite his prolonged absences from their lives, though the younger brother is more sceptical. Despite the brewing trouble, Folarin takes the boys on a sight-seeing tour of Lagos, to the places that hold a special memory. But he is already aware, maybe, that his role as a father is fragile. This is reflected in Dìrísù's subtle performance that strikes the right balance between being the solid father figure and the tender, reflective man he is at heart. And it is seen in the almost spectral way he is filmed by Davies Jr. and cinematographer Jermaine Edwards. The result is a beautiful and delicate film about memory and grief and the longing for a father who is no longer there. In the words of Folarin: "The memories that cause you pain when someone leaves are the same ones that will comfort you later." Source: https://www.luxtimes.lu/culture/today-at-luxfilmfest-fateful-nigerian-road-trip-stirs-the-heart-in-my-fathers-shadow/139631181.html