Nigerian cinema: My Father’s Shadow celebrates its premiere in Cannes

Nigerian cinema: My Father’s Shadow celebrates its premiere in Cannes

nigeria will be represented at this year's film festival in Cannes. For the first time in the almost 80-year history of the festival, a film from the most populous country of Africa was included in the official selection.

about the film: "My Father’s Shadow"

"My Father’s Shadow", written and staged by Akinola Davies Jr. and also made of his brother Wale Davies, tells the story of ọpẹ́ Dìrísù (“Slow Horses”, “Gangs of London”). The film plays in Lagos in the aftermath of the 1993 presidential elections and accompanies Dìrísù's father and the two sons Remi and Akin on their odyssey through the city, while they are confronted with the tumultuous consequences of the election.

an important production

Davies Jr.s Semi-Autobiographical debut, produced by element Pictures in collaboration with Fatherland Productions and Crybaby, has already had strong support in the form of the distributor Mubi, who secured the rights for North America and other regions before the news was announced by the Cannes premiere. This gives the film additional hype.

competition participation and meaning

The film is shown as part of "Un Certain Regard"- a competition for debut and emerging filmmakers. Fatherland announces that this is the first Nigerian film in this category.

Davies Jr. reacted with the words: “This is proof of all those who are devoting themselves to the narrative of authentic Nigerian stories: from the teams to the countless technicians who drive our film industry.

positive feedback from producers

Funmbi Ogunbanwo, co -producer and managing director of Fatherland Productions, said: “It is an incredible feeling of bringing our fully and entirely Nigerian history - rooted in whales and Akin's experience with the loss of her father to live on a global stage.” He added: “We integrated Yoruba, Pidgin and well -known streets from Lagos and Ibadan to capture the nature of our homeland.”

Africa at the Cannes Film Festival 2025

The Cannes Film Festival announced that 2,909 feature films were sighted to set up the program for 2025. In addition to "My Father’s Shadow" there will be other African contributions. Below is "Aisha Can’t Fly Away" by Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa, who tells the story of a Somali woman in Cairo, and "Promised Sky" by the French Tunisian Erige Sehiri.

historical perspectives

Despite the fact that Nigeria has the largest and most productive film industry in the continent, the representation at the film festival has so far been low. So far, Nigerian productions have mostly shown in secondary events at the festival, but participation in the official selection has not yet been proven.

Nigeria's big appearance in Cannes

nigeria will present itself strongly this year at the festival, including with a national pavilion. The Ministry of Art, Culture and Tourism will be the project Screen nigeria . The aim of this broad initiative is to create two million jobs in the creative and tourist sectors by 2030 and to contribute $ 100 billion to GDP Nigeria

The 78th Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 13th to 24th. The premiere date for "My Father’s Shadow" and its theatrical release will be announced.