Akinola Davies Jr: Nigerian Cinema
Can Do What Afrobeats Has Done
BAFTA-winning Director, Akinola Davies Jr. talks about the journey of ‘My Father’s Shadow.’ The conversation traces the journey of the film: from its start as an arthouse project, to becoming the first Nigerian film selected for official competition at Cannes, sweeping five awards at the AMVCA 2026, and its selection as the UK entry for the Academy Awards. Ferdinand Ekechukwu brings the excerpts:
Making My Father’s Shadow: Mainland Lagos, Film Stock, and a Whale
Davies Jr., who grew up on the Lagos mainland, shot the film almost entirely there, focusing on parts of the city that rarely appear on screen. The production had five weeks of preparation and a six-week shoot on film stock, which naturally slowed the pace and required more considered decisions across departments. He describes a production approach that treated crew members as artists with proper time and resources, paying overtime, holding extensive rehearsals, and giving costume, sound, and production design the space typical Nollywood schedules often cannot. This helped the film feel more substantial than its budget suggested, as money went further in Nigeria. The most challenging sequence was the whale on the beach, which combined practical elements like boats to block sightlines and a physical fin with CG work. The team had almost no useful visual references.
