British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr’s My Father’s Shadow earns two Gotham nominations, marking a breakthrough for Nigerian storytelling

Akinola Davies Jr., the Nigerian-British filmmaker behind My Father’s Shadow, has been nominated for the Breakthrough Director Award at the 2025 Gotham Awards, a recognition that marks another milestone in his already remarkable year. In addition, the film’s lead actor, Ṣọpé Dìrísù, is nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for his role. The nomination places him among the most promising new voices in global cinema and extends a growing wave of international attention toward Nigerian storytelling.

My Father’s Shadow has been quietly making history since its debut. Co-written by Akinola and his brother, Wale Davies, the film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regardsection, becoming the first Nigerian-related film to be officially selected in the prestigious lineup. Set in 1993 during Nigeria’s tense presidential election, it follows two boys accompanying their estranged father on a journey from their village to Lagos. What begins as a simple road trip unfolds into a layered meditation on fatherhood, identity, loss, and the lingering scars of a fractured nation. The film, grounded in personal memory and national history, draws from the Davies brothers’ own experience of losing their father at a young age.

Critics have praised My Father’s Shadow for its restraint and emotional clarity, with The Guardiancalling it a “subtle and intelligent coming-of-age tale” and others describing it as one of the most distinctive films to emerge from West Africa in recent years. The film’s quiet, lyrical, and often intimate visual language departs from Nollywood’s conventional pace and instead mirrors the slower, more contemplative tone of arthouse cinema. It is a film made in collaboration with Nigerian crew members, yet its rhythm and language reflect a diasporic sensibility that speaks to home and the world beyond.

Earlier this year, the United Kingdom selected My Father’s Shadow as its official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards, the first time a Nigerian story has been submitted under the UK banner. That decision and the Gotham nomination highlight how national and artistic identities are evolving in global cinema. Davies’ work blurs those borders: a film rooted in Nigeria, told through a British production framework, yet resonating universally.

The Gotham recognition is especially significant for Nigerian cinema. Nollywood has dominated the continent through sheer volume for years, producing thousands of films annually but rarely crossing into the Western awards circuit. My Father’s Shadow represents something different, a fusion of local authenticity and global craft that challenges assumptions about what Nigerian cinema can look and feel like. It’s not just a breakthrough for Davies, but a signal that Nigerian stories can increasingly stand alongside the best of world cinema.

While Gotham’s archives don’t yet confirm whether this is the first Nigerian story ever nominated at the awards, no other record suggests a precedent. If so, the nomination would mark another “first” for My Father’s Shadow, after Cannes and the Oscars submission, cementing its place as a landmark in Nigeria’s cinematic journey.

Davies described the film as a personal reckoning with memory and masculinity, an attempt to reconcile absence and belonging. That intimacy resonates with My Father’s Shadow, a deeply Nigerian story that, paradoxically, feels universal. As awards season unfolds, his nomination signals a personal triumph and a quiet redefinition of what global audiences can expect from Nollywood and its storytellers.

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Ikenna Churchill

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