My Father's Shadow

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1:59

My Father's Shadow

2025

1h 34m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

98%

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82 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

The UK's Best International Feature Film entry to the 98th Academy Awards® and recipient of the Caméra d'Or Special Mention at Cannes, Akinola Davis Jr.'s MY FATHER'S SHADOW is a poetic, tender portrait of father-son bonds. Framed by the political landscape of 1993 Lagos, the film follows a father and his two young sons as they journey into and around the vibrantly rendered Nigerian metropolis, quietly reckoning with their relationship while navigating a city on the precipice of democratic crisis. Brothers and collaborators Akinola Davis Jr. and Wale Davies bring us a groundbreaking feature debut -- centering an award-winning performance by Sopé Dìrísù (Slow Horses, Gangs of London) -- that reveals the profound depths of what families leave unspoken.

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Critics Consensus

Weaving high-stakes political commentary with rich personal dynamics that are bolstered by Sope Dirisu's commanding performance, My Father's Shadow casts a highly promising light on feature-debut director Akinola Davies' future.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

May 7

This is an absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing film.

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Jacob Oller

AV Club

Feb 13

B+

The story two brothers tell themselves about their father, and about their childhood in Nigeria, My Father’s Shadow is as well-loved and well-worn as a lucky charm.

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Alissa Wilkinson

New York Times

Feb 12

It’s that sharp contrast of beauty with an undercurrent of pain that makes “My Father’s Shadow” so bittersweet, and it’s why it cuts to the quick.

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Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

May 22

4/5

Filmed with great empathy, the work is as visually captivating as it is emotionally resonant.

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Beandrea July

FilmWeek (LAist)

May 7

Tender and sweet.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

May 3

feels like a cinematic scrapbook of fractured memories told from children’s perspective, but retroactively this autofiction film will feel like a ghost story

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies May 14

This is a beautiful, harrowing, emotional and powerful drama about family. It is one of the most perceptive and heartbreaking family dramas in years. The performances by Sope Dirisu and especially the kids are magical and extremely strong and natural.

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Nicholas T.

@TaylorNC17 May 8

Hard to muster the words after seeing… a beautiful and poetic meditation on life, family and freedom, profound in its simplicity.

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Jamey M

@Unicycle6869 Apr 28

I thought it was boring tbh.

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Ephraim C

@EphraimCobb27 Mar 25

A very touching film amidst a tumultuous backdrop.

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Catherine Imogen W

@RT67840195 Mar 15

I was very impressed and nearly in tears by the end. The father needs to work in Lagos during military rule. He appears to have taken part in a demonstration at Bonny Camp and to have been seriously injured - the military deny any casualties but in the last resort say "it cannot be him, nobody survived." Ok and the story is about the lovely last day his two little sons had with him in Lagos. Finally the tragedy unravels.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 7

The worldwide gross is $1,000,000.00, less than the budget of $3,400,000.00.

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Akinola Davies

Director

Sope Dirisu

Folarin

Godwin Egbo

Actor

Chibuike Marvellous Egbo

Actor

Efon Wini

Bola

Wale Davies

Writer

Awards Leaderboard: Best Movies of 2025

My Father's Shadow: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The UK's Best International Feature Film entry to the 98th Academy Awards® and recipient of the Caméra d'Or Special Mention at Cannes, Akinola Davis Jr.'s MY FATHER'S SHADOW is a poetic, tender portrait of father-son bonds. Framed by the political landscape of 1993 Lagos, the film follows a father and his two young sons as they journey into and around the vibrantly rendered Nigerian metropolis, quietly reckoning with their relationship while navigating a city on the precipice of democratic crisis. Brothers and collaborators Akinola Davis Jr. and Wale Davies bring us a groundbreaking feature debut -- centering an award-winning performance by Sopé Dìrísù (Slow Horses, Gangs of London) -- that reveals the profound depths of what families leave unspoken.

Director: Akinola Davies
Producer: Rachel Dargavel, Funmbi Ogunbanwo
Screenwriter: Wale Davies, Akinola Davies
Distributor: MUBI
Production Co: British Film Institute, BBC Film
Genre: Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 21, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $105.9K
Runtime: 1h 34m