My Father’s Shadow’s latest BAFTA recognition rides on previous wins and globetrotting.
By Adedamola Jones Adedayo
British-Nigeria co-production, My Father’s Shadow, has bagged the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Producer or Director at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), an honour that attests to the collaborative excellence of the film’s writer-director Akinola Davies Jr. and his brother and co-writer Wale Davies.
The Davies brothers’ film triumphed over other films nominated in the same category, which includes Wasteman by Cal McMau (Director), Hunter Andrews (Writer), and Eoin Doran (Writer), A Want in Her by Myrid Carten (Director), Pillion by Harry Lighton (Director, Writer), and The Ceremony by Jack King (Director, Writer), Hollie Bryan (Producer), and Lucy Meer (Producer).
My Father’s Shadow provides a portrait of the socio-political atmosphere of Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian presidential election crisis. It stars British-Nigerian Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Folarin, a Nigerian father who journeys with his sons, Remi (Chibuike Marvellous Egbo) and Akin (Godwin Chiemerie Egbo), from their idyllic home to the bustling city of Lagos over the course of a day. An Afrocritik review describes the film as “an intimate semi-autobiographical tale of fatherhood, brotherhood, and a nation teetering on the brink”.
My Father’s Shadow is produced by Rachel Dargavel and Funmbi Ogunbanwo, and supported by BBC Film and British Film Institute (BFI) in collaboration with Element Pictures, Crybaby and Fatherland Productions.
The film’s latest BAFTA recognition rides on previous wins and globetrotting. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, eventually receiving the Caméra d’Or Special Mention for Best First Feature. It has also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Seville European Film Festival, International Film Festival of India, Chicago International Film Festival, Gotham Independent Film Awards and BFI London Film Festival, receiving more accolades, all in 2025. The film premiered across Nigerian cinemas on 19th September, 2025, distributed by FilmOne Entertainment.
Organised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the 79th BAFTAs occurred on 22nd February 2026, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2025, at the Royal Festival Hall within London’s Southbank Centre.