Akinola Davies Jr. makes history with Nigeria’s first Cannes entry, explores fatherhood

On Monday, May 19, Akinola Davies Jr. made history as the director of Nigeria’s first-ever film competing at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. At just 29 years old, Davies is already breaking boundaries with his debut feature, My Father’s Shadow, which is vying for the Camera d’Or for Best First Film.

Davies’ personal journey has been marked by loss, as he lost his father when he was just two years old. “I’ve always collected father figures growing up,” he shared with AFP, reflecting on how the absence of his own father shaped his life and his work. His film, a poignant exploration of fatherhood, also mirrors the larger search for leadership within his home country.

“Nigeria has been looking for a father figure for a long time to put an arm around its shoulder,” Akinola remarked, touching on the parallels between his own story and his nation’s struggle.

My Father’s Shadow, which The Guardian described as “rich, heartfelt, and rewarding,” follows a father and his two sons on a journey through Lagos during a period of intense political upheaval in 1993, when the military annulled the results of a democratic election. The film explores the fallout of the coup and the dashed hopes of many Nigerians, who had looked to opposition leader Moshood Abiola, known as “MKO,” to lead them to freedom. Instead, Abiola was imprisoned by the military.

“There are interesting parallels between the father figures as the president of the country and as a military dictator,” said Akinola, noting how Nigeria’s leadership often mirrored the authoritarian father figure so many grew up with.

Growing up between London and Lagos, Akinola recalls how the idea of a father figure was rooted in strength and discipline. “There was a perception that a father figure had to be a strong, authoritarian disciplinarian,” he said, a view that was reflected in the military regime of General Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria after the coup.

However, through his film, Akinola subtly suggests that Nigeria could have had an alternative father figure — one who was nurturing, compassionate, and kind. This more compassionate version of fatherhood is embodied by Sope Dirisu, who plays a father on a quest to retrieve back pay owed to him. Alongside his two sons, he ventures into Lagos, but the father’s imperfections begin to surface. Though he is fundamentally a good man, his infidelity in the city exposes the cracks in his character.

“The film is about the boys being able to hold their father accountable,” Akinola explained. “And because they get to see how to be accountable, they can be accountable themselves.”

The director said that My Father’s Shadow was a reflection on masculinity, challenging the traditional view of fatherhood as authoritarian. “It’s about making a father’s relationship with his children a two-way street and not a dictatorship.”

Akinola co-wrote the screenplay with his older brother, Wale, whom he “idolised” as a child. This sibling bond is mirrored in the relationship between the two brothers in the film, Godwin Chimerie Egbo and Chibiuke Marvellous Egbo, who play the sons.

In a case of life imitating art, Sope Dirisu, known for his role in Gangs of London, had to take on the “Daddy” role on set, often finding himself gently disciplining his younger co-stars. In another echo of the script, Marvellous tried to maintain order, much like the character he played in the film.

“There are levels and levels,” Akinola laughed.

As the film continues to garner positive reviews and Davies rubs shoulders with Hollywood royalty on the red carpet, he hopes for a brighter future for Nigeria, one where dreams are no longer deferred.

“The dreams of Africa’s most populous country have been deferred and deferred and deferred,” he said. “And they’re still being deferred.”