Akinola Davies Jr. on representing Nigerian cinema at Cannes with 'My Father's Shadow'

My Father’s Shadow made history nan infinitesimal it deed this year's Cannes lineup.

Akinola Davies Jr.’s hauntingly beautiful debut became nan first Nigerian movie to person an charismatic action astatine nan festival, a milestone infinitesimal not conscionable for nan filmmaker but for African cinema arsenic a whole.

“Representing Nigeria to maine is simply a existent badge of honour,” Davies Jr. told Euronews Culture. “I americium highly proud to beryllium Nigerian, proud to beryllium African successful general, and I deliberation our stories are incredibly universal.”

Set successful 1993 Lagos during nan tense lead-up to Nigeria’s first antiauthoritarian predetermination since a subject coup installed General Ibrahim Babangida, nan semi-autobiographical movie takes spot complete nan people of a single, fraught day. Through nan eyes of 2 young brothers reuniting pinch their absent father, My Father’s Shadow softly grapples pinch themes of masculinity, generational trauma, and nan fragility of nationalist personality successful times of governmental unrest.

Gangs of London prima Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù delivers a simmering capacity arsenic Folarin, nan burdened patriarch trying to reconnect pinch his sons, played by breakout talents Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo.

Davies co-wrote nan book pinch his relative Wale, pinch some besides serving arsenic executive producers connected nan project. Ahead of its Cannes premiere, global streamer MUBI acquired nan film, pinch plans for a theatrical merchandise successful North America and nan UK.

We sat down pinch Akinola Davies Jr. pursuing nan film’s premiere to talk his Cannes experience, nan making of My Father’s Shadow, and nan work - and joyousness - of representing Nigeria connected cinema’s biggest stage.

Euronews Culture: First of all, congratulations. It's adjacent to opportunity My Father's Shadow has been a immense occurrence story. It's received captious acclaim and, obviously, it was nan first Nigerian movie to beryllium officially selected into Cannes. Could you show america a small spot astir nan acquisition of going to Cannes and what it meant to you personally to correspond Nigeria connected specified a monolithic world stage?

Akinola Davies Jr.: Sure. I mean, you ne'er really group retired to beryllium nan first successful anything, and we surely weren't alert that it would beryllium nan first Nigerian movie successful selection. I deliberation location person been Nigerian films astatine Cannes before, but evidently not successful selection. So, nan acquisition was beautiful overwhelming, but successful nan champion way. I deliberation it's unthinkable to show activity successful a spot afloat of cinephiles, group who emotion nan craft, and a spot pinch specified monolithic prestige. It's everything you ideate nan situation for your projects and activity to unrecorded in.

In that aspect, it was really awesome to beryllium there. I deliberation Nigerians, pinch it being nan first Nigerian movie astatine Cannes, person really caught connected to that. Many of nan unit and formed turned up publicly, and it was synonymous pinch Nigeria having a pavilion successful Cannes for nan first year, which was conscionable serendipitous and arsenic felt for illustration cleanable timing. The movie doing arsenic good arsenic it has and being received arsenic it has is for illustration a cherry connected apical of a cherry connected apical of a cherry.

So, yeah, I'm really pleased. Representing Nigeria to maine is simply a existent badge of honour. I americium highly proud to beryllium Nigerian, proud to beryllium African successful general, and I deliberation our stories are incredibly universal. I dream that continues because filmmakers for illustration Mati Diop pinch her movie Atlantiques and nan Esiri brothers did it pinch Eyimofe (Eyimofe: This Is My Desire). But I deliberation there's astir apt becoming an icnreasing marketplace for nuanced versions of our stories to recreation crossed nan world.

Nigerian cinema boasts an incredibly rich | and heavy history, from nan pioneering activity of Hubert Ogunde to nan much caller contributions of Kunle Afolayan. Why do you deliberation it has taken truthful agelong for a Nigerian movie to beryllium officially selected astatine Cannes?

I find this mobility a spot tricky. On 1 hand, it’s astir curiosity because media, finance, and galore industries are system to privilege nan world North. So naturally, everyone looks to Europe and America for what’s relevant.

However, location is now much introspection, allowing nan world North to move its attraction toward nan world South for stories and ideas. Both person been intimately linked done maturation and assets sharing. Specifically for Nigerian films walking abroad, it’s important to retrieve that Nigeria is made up of complete 300 tribes, each pinch different languages and dialects. We are community-based people, truthful Nollywood’s superior attraction is serving Nigerian audiences.

Beyond that, Nollywood serves nan African continent and nan diaspora. If Europe shows interest, it is incredibly welcoming - but connection and dialect barriers request to beryllium bridged. Europe hasn’t ever been awesome astatine doing that, particularly since nan attraction has mostly been connected European markets.

So, there’s decidedly immoderate complexity here. That being said, Nigerian films person been coming astatine Cannes earlier - including different movie this year. Perhaps storytelling style besides plays a role: my movie is portion of Nollywood but leans much toward arthouse, which aligns good pinch Cannes, whereas galore Nigerian films thin to beryllium much commercial. I deliberation some sides could do a amended occupation bridging that gap.

How do you spot your activity successful narration pinch Nollywood?

I deliberation my movie is unapologetically a Nollywood film. My formed and unit are astir 90% group who activity successful Nollywood. To opportunity nan activity isn’t Nollywood feels disingenuous. Nollywood is incredibly rich, pinch a beautiful tapestry of storytelling, creativity, and method prowess. I deterioration that arsenic a badge of honour.

It’s a young, fledgling industry. Nigerian cinema predates Nollywood, but Nollywood itself is astir apt 30–34 years old, astir my age. Hollywood, by comparison, is astir 100 years successful development. Maybe now Nollywood has a commercialized neccisity, but hopefully films for illustration excavation branch retired to create abstraction for arthouse narratives, much nuanced dramas. Nollywood has done good successful horror, sci-fi, and supernatural, but nan play of nan communal man’s regular life whitethorn beryllium neglected. Hopefully films for illustration mine, films for illustration Eyimofe, films for illustration All nan Colours of nan World Are Between Black and White, films for illustration Mami Wata, create that palette, and audiences are interested.

Going backmost to Cannes, were location immoderate peculiarly surreal moments?

Yeah, a mates of moments. The reddish carpets are ever a small surreal. I tried to wink astatine Cate Blanchett. I don’t cognize if she saw it, but I decidedly tried. I besides sat down and had luncheon pinch Juliette Binoche, which was really surreal. But nan moments that spun maine retired nan astir were simple. I travel this guy, Thomas Flight, connected YouTube who does video essays and reviews. Meeting him successful personification was astir apt much breathtaking than seeing a personage because I emotion his work.

What did you do to observe aft nan premiere of your film? Any parties?

Yes, we had a party. Element produced my movie and besides produced Harry Lighton’s unthinkable debut Pillion, which won an grant for champion screenplay. So we shared a party. I person a inheritance successful throwing parties and music, truthful I sewage immoderate unthinkable DJs to travel play. By each accounts, it was beautiful good.

For anyone unfamiliar, could you springiness america a little synopsis of My Father’s Shadow?

Sure. My Father’s Shadow is simply a movie astir fatherhood, nationhood, and brotherhood. It’s astir 2 brothers spending nan time pinch their father, who they don’t spot regularly. He takes them astir Lagos to show nan struggles he goes done to supply for nan family. They mobility his absence and clasp him to account. On that day, there’s a large predetermination consequence announced, and he has to get them home.

Why did you consciousness it was important to group it against specified a pivotal governmental arena successful Nigerian history?

Exactly for that reason. It was a pivotal moment. I was successful Nigeria during that period, arsenic was my brother, and we knew thing was going connected from nan reactions of family. We were astir apt excessively young to afloat understand nan authorities astatine nan time, but successful our research, we realised it was an important infinitesimal successful nan country’s history, thing not good documented until now.

It’s for illustration a family heirloom successful position of Nigeria. It’s a very important communicative to show because Nigeria has a large portion to play successful Africa’s maturation and development, and moreover nan world’s. It hasn’t afloat fulfilled that imaginable yet, though location person been shimmering moments.

To really displacement things forward, we request to show our ain stories successful a nuanced way, not from an extracurricular perspective. I deliberation My Father’s Shadow holds a batch successful position of modern Nigerian history. It’s important to cognize what happened and who was astir successful that play for sure.

You co-wrote nan movie pinch your relative Wale, and I understand you each had different memories of your puerility and your father. How did those contrasting perspectives style aliases enrich nan film?

My relative is an incredibly accomplished writer. He's besides a musician and successful euphony management. He's older than maine and astir apt nan astir well-read personification I know. He's besides 1 of my closest and astir apt my champion friends. Working pinch a related forces you into a abstraction of honesty because you cognize everything astir each other. That helps nan activity because we effort to constitute from an honorable place. If it’s not honest, it doesn’t consciousness right.

Both of america being men, him being a father, and maine not yet, besides helps. Being adjacent successful property to erstwhile we mislaid our begetter really helped nan genesis of nan movie - trying to fig retired what we really remember, what’s made up, what’s been told to us, what we fabricated versus what’s real. That was nan guiding unit for penning nan script.

Equally, my relative became a begetter during nan penning process, truthful a batch of emotions and nan thought of sacrifice and providing for your family were taken into account. There’s a communicative of absent fathers, which tin beryllium rather antagonistic and derivative, but I don’t deliberation ours fits that. Our absent begetter was retired of work and providing for nan family, which I judge is communal successful an African discourse - it's accepted and conservative. Ultimately, there’s still this thought of work successful Africa, possibly antiquated successful Europe, but still very coming - providing for your family sometimes intends you don’t walk arsenic overmuch clip pinch them. That’s wherever our communicative comes from, and I deliberation location are still challenges we’re dealing with.

Nigeria successful nan ’90s - for illustration overmuch of nan world - was very antheral dominated. Do you deliberation it’s changed overmuch nowadays?

I deliberation connected nan surface, it’s very antheral dominated, but I decidedly wouldn’t opportunity women are successful hierarchical power - though successful politics, they’ve been gaining much ground. Actually, I deliberation Nigerian women astir apt crystallise nan brilliance of Nigeria successful galore ways. Our shaper is simply a Nigerian woman; we person 2 producers, 1 from nan UK and 1 from Nigeria. My mother - who’s evidently a Nigerian female - successful my father’s absence aliases aft his passing, she took nan mantle and raised 4 children. My aunt is nan matriarch of nan family. I was ever surrounded by my mother’s friends - they each ran their ain businesses and were wholly self-sufficient. If you spell to immoderate marketplace successful Nigeria, it’s beautiful overmuch each women moving things. So yeah, connected nan aboveground - and possibly politically aliases presidentially successful immoderate cases - it feels antheral dominated, and it’s astir apt easy to opportunity that from nan extracurricular looking in.

But moreover though my mother isn’t really successful nan film, she’s still an overarching presence. Feminine power is besides a strong, though not front-facing, beingness successful nan movie - much subconscious, effectively. And I deliberation that’s what it means. To your question, I deliberation Africa successful general, and Nigeria successful particular, has to coming arsenic masculine because of our history - assemblage history, independency history. The leaders who’ve been targeted and killed nan astir were men and statesmen, including successful my film, moreover though Abiola is still very overmuch live wrong it.

So erstwhile that absence happens, it’s nan women who person to return attraction of nan family, who person to emergence to nan juncture - particularly Abiola’s wives, who are cardinal characters successful my film. While my movie is group complete 1 day, aft Abiola’s passing years later, his wives were nan ones starring nan charge. So yeah, connected nan aboveground it mightiness consciousness that way, but for me, having grown up there, I’d astir apt antagonistic that Nigeria is highly organised and tally by women. Obviously, patriarchy still has a spot successful nine because of nan assemblage experience. But hopefully, done telling stories successful film, art, and media, we tin reference our histories.

You changeable nan movie connected location, connected 16mm film. How was that logistically and why did you consciousness it was important to sprout successful this medium?

You’d person to inquire my producers for logistics, but it was challenging - location are nary labs connected nan continent. We had to shuttle movie backmost and forth, truthful we didn’t spot rushes for almost a week, meaning we couldn’t onslaught sets during that time.

I emotion shooting connected film. It slows nan pace, embraces imperfections, and allows much rehearsal clip pinch formed and crew. Two of my 3 leads had ne'er acted earlier - I didn’t want to nitpick performances connected set. Originally, I planned to hole things successful nan edit. Working pinch my Mexican editor Omidy Guzman, who’s an unsung hero, we extracted what we needed and sewage nan performances we wanted.

Thematically, shooting a play movie connected movie really helped. Politically, I wanted to spot nan Lagos I grew up successful captured connected what I see nan astir beautiful medium. I wasn’t exposed to overmuch of that increasing up. So whenever I sprout successful Nigeria, I want to sprout connected movie because Lagos is incredibly cinematic and deserves celluloid - not that I’m against digital; I emotion integer excessively and sprout it often. But I deliberation erstwhile it comes to capturing nan principle of a place, I deliberation movie is simply a really bully shorthand.

What effect do you dream My Father’s Shadow will person connected nan wider movie industry?

Ooooh large question! It’s a spot early to say, but from responses, I dream My Father’s Shadow is for illustration breaking crushed for a adjacent procreation of filmmakers to spot that it’s imaginable to do it.

Obviously, like, I travel pinch a definite level of privilege. I was calved successful nan UK. My film’s financed successful nan UK predominantly, but evidently co-produced by a Nigerian accumulation company, Nigerian talent, Nigerian crew. So there’s a batch of collaboration successful there. But, obviously, I person to besides opportunity that it comes pinch a definite level of privilege having MUBI, Element, Match Factory, Fremantle, BBC, BFI each involved. That mightiness not beryllium nan lawsuit for each filmmaker, but I want to admit that and opportunity that location is simply a measurement to benignant of get to this point, but, obviously, it takes a batch of collaboration, a batch of guardant thinking, and a batch of groundwork, but it’s possible.

My Father's Shadow had its world premiere astatine nan Un Certain Regard conception of nan 2025 Cannes Film Festival, wherever it won nan Special Mention for nan Caméra d'Or. Mubi acquired distribution authorities for North America, nan UK, Ireland, and Turkey.