Believed to be the first Nigerian film to premiere in Cannes’ official selection, Akinola Davies Jr’s debut feature, My Father’s Shadow [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Akinola Davies Jr.
fiche film], will launch this May in the Un Certain Regard strand (see the news). Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (known for the UK series Slow Horses and Gangs of London) plays the titular “father”, embarking on an odyssey across Lagos with his two estranged sons, as they struggle to return home amidst the fallout from Nigeria’s contested 1993 election. Ireland’s Element Pictures and Nigeria’s Fatherland Productions are the lead producers in association with Crybaby Films, whilst BBC Film and the BFI co-financed.

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Written by the director with his own brother Wale Davies, the story follows two kid brothers, Remi and Akin, who are enjoying a “gift of a day” with their estranged father, Folarin (Dìrísù). They go on a voyage into Lagos, observing the colossal city for the first time coupled with their father’s issues with parenting them. All this occurs against the backdrop of the 1993 presidential election result – the country’s first after a decade of military rule – calling into question his ability to get them home. With the film described as “semi-autobiographical”, perhaps Davies Jr has chosen this setting as a flashpoint in the country’s difficult post-colonial transition to democracy.

Rachel Dargavel produces for Element Pictures alongside Funmbi Ogunbanwo for Fatherland, who also steered production on location in Lagos. The executive producers are Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe for Element, Eva Yates for BBC Film, and Ama Amapadu for the BFI. Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jr also act as executive producers. The Match Factory handles the international sales, which have already been brisk: its partner company MUBI is distributing in North America, the UK, Ireland and Turkey, whilst Le Pacte has recently acquired French rights.

Like its Cannes section mate Pillion (see the news), also produced by Element, My Father’s Shadow was helped through the industry pipeline after the director’s success with an eye-catching short: Davies Jr’s Lizard won the Sundance Short Film Grand Jury Prize in 2021, whilst also being nominated for a BAFTA.