Absence Speaks Louder Than Presence in “My Father’s Shadow”

“Does absence mean love?” asks one of the young boys to his father in My Father’s Shadow.

It is an innocent, almost naïve question, yet in the mouth of a twelve-year-old accustomed to his father’s constant departures, it lands with aching clarity. His mother had already offered a premise: daddy’s absence was born of the loving need to put food on the table for his family. And since God himself was unseen yet still loving, the boy reasons, love must sometimes mean staying away.

That tension defines My Father’s Shadow, the semi-autobiographical debut feature by writer-director Akinola Davies Jr., co-written with his brother Wale Davies. Premiering at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in the summer—where it earned a Camera d’Or special mention, a first for a Nigerian film—it is only now reaching domestic audiences.

This coming-of-age story sees Folarin (Sope Dirisu) with his two sons Akin (8) and Remi (11)—played by biological brothers Godwin Chimerie Egbo and Chibuike Marvelous Egbo—on a trip from their rusty village to the then-Nigerian capital of Lagos, in the disturbingly chaotic political climate of 1993.

Nigeria is on the edge, rife with corruption and economic and political instability. The military government held a presidential election, to make good on its promise to transition to democracy, and the nation awaits the announcement of the results with an unhealthy dose of skepticism.

Folarin, on his part, only wants to demand his six-month overdue wages before the brewing chaos turns hot. Tall, muscular and sporting a grand aura, Disiru’s Fola struggles with achieving optimal work-family-patriot balance. His sporadic presence in his sons’ lives is plain enough: he doesn’t even realize one of them despises onions. It is clear he has endured, and is still enduring, a rough day. The young boys, however, crave only the wonder of a bustling capital like Lagos.

Of course, they act like everything to expect from children their age: sincere and innocently inquisitive. Biological or not, the Egbo brothers sell it, bringing to bear all the infighting, nagging and chemistry that comes with brotherhood. They fiddle with hand-drawn paper cut-outs of famous wrestlers, whisper of bush-baby tales and are fans of famous football stars (cue the picture of Rashidi Yekini on the bedroom wall).

En-route and in Lagos, the duo observe just about anything that exists—with enthusiasm buzzing to the piano tunes—including how seeming strangers address daddy; “Kapo” (boss), he’s known by in these parts.

It’s a twenty four-hour journey that’s worth a lifetime for these young minds…and a two-hour journey for the audience of what 1990s Lagos looks like. Local prices are a reminder of what once was to the modern-day Nigerian sharing bed with inflation.

Splendid production design by Jennifer Boyd and Pablo Bruhn and costume by PVC Williams makes everything natural in My Father’s Shadow. For a film set more than three decades ago, so much of it feel’s relevant to modern times with lines like “If you die for Nigeria, you die for nothing” and “Nigeria go better. If e no better, e go better for our pikin (kids) time.”

My Father’s Shadow’s snail crawl aids increased father-son bonding. Akin and Remi wholeheartedly consume what may well be the most sustained experience of paternal love they have ever known. This somewhat mysterious figure they call “Dad” is actually hardworking, caring, and is, for some reason more than the average Nigerian, troubled about work and the larger political climate. Even the audience can’t fully grasp the reason behind such personal heaviness.

Such angst, which hums throughout My Father’s Shadow, unfortunately crescendos in an unfounded late twist. Abrupt as it may, could this dissonance be the Davies brothers’ expression of a father’s desire to shape how he will be remembered, to leave behind a shadow luminous enough for his children to follow? A legacy steeped in patriotism, in sacrifice, or in love born through absence?

Release Date: September 19, 2025

Runtime: One Hour and 30 minutes

Streaming Service: None — Cinematic Release

Directed by: Akinola Davies Jr.

Cast: Sope Dirisu, Adesina McCoy Babalola, Akerele David, Chibuike, Marvelous Egbo, Godwin Egbo, Efòn Wini, Lawrence Chu, , Tosin Adeyemi, Wale Davies, Yetunde Coker