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My Father's Shadow Opens in Theaters With a Festival-Lauded Portrait of Family and 1993 Lagos

Reviews highlight its 16mm textures, Yoruba-shaped sense of time, an immersive score, strong performances.

Overview

  • The feature debut of Akinola Davies Jr., co-written with his brother Wale, follows a father and his two young sons across Lagos over a single day.
  • The film is set against Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, invoking the annulled MKO Abiola result and references to state violence including Bonny Camp.
  • The cast features Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as the father, with real-life brothers Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Chimerie Egbo playing the sons.
  • Shot on 16mm on location in Lagos, the drama weaves Yoruba spirituality and non-linear memory into a tactile, child’s-eye experience.
  • Critics praise Jermaine Edwards’s cinematography, Omar Guzmán Castro’s editing, and Duval Timothy and CJ Mirra’s score, while noting some telegraphed beats; after a Cannes Un Certain Regard berth and a Camera d’Or special mention, it opens Feb. 13 in Toronto with wider expansion starting Feb. 20.