#FIRSTLOOK: “MY FATHER’S SHADOW” COMING TO THEATRES FEBRUARY 26, 2026

MUBI, the global distributor, streaming service, and production company, is excited to reveal the new trailer for Akinola Davies Jr.’s award-winning directorial debut feature, My Father’s Shadow, released in cinemas across Canada from February 26, 2026.

Starring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Slow Horses, Gangs Of London) and introducing Godwin Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, My Father’s Shadow won the Best Director Prize for Akinola Davies Jr. (Lizard) at the 2025 British Independent Film Awards and has also been chosen as U.K.’s Academy Award submission for the Best International Feature Film. Akinola Davies Jr. was awarded Best Breakthrough Director along with Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù being awarded Outstanding Lead Performance at this year’s Gotham Awards. The film received its World Premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the prestigious Un Certain Regard strand, where it earned Akinola Davies Jr. a Special Mention from the Awards Jury.

A semi-autobiographical tale set over the course of a single day in the Nigerian metropolis Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis. The story follows a father, estranged from his two young sons, as they travel through the massive city while political unrest threatens their journey home.

Written by Wale Davies and co-written by Akinola Davies Jr., who was recently selected for this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough cohort, alongside Wale Davies, and exquisitely shot by cinematographer Jermaine Edwards, My Father’s Shadow captures, through a child’s eyes, a moment of profound historical upheaval – when everything is on the verge of change.

MY FATHER’S SHADOW IS RELEASED IN CANADA ON
FEBRUARY 6, 2026.

#FIRSTLOOK: “MY FATHER’S SHADOW” COMING TO MUBI CANADA

MUBI, the global distributor, streaming service and production company, is proud to announce that Akinola Davies Jr.’s directorial debut feature, My Father’s Shadow, will be released in cinemas across Canada from February 6, 2026.

Starring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Slow Horses, Gangs Of London) and introducing Godwin Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo. My Father’s Shadow had its World Premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and was the first Nigerian film eve to premiere in the festival, playing in the prestigious Un Certain Regard strand. Akinola Davies Jr. (Lizard) earned a Special Mention from the Awards Jury for the Camera d’Or. The film has since had its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and is the most nominated film at the British Independent Film Awards with 12 nominations in total, the film also received Gotham Film Award nominations in the Breakthrough Director and Outstanding Lead Performance categories.

A semi-autobiographical tale set over the course of a single day in the Nigerian metropolis Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis. The story follows a father, estranged from his two young sons, as they travel through the massive city while political unrest threatens their journey home.

Co-written by Akinola Davies Jr. and Wale Davies, and exquisitely shot by cinematographer Jermaine Edwards, My Father’s Shadow captures, through a child’s eyes, a moment of profound historical upheaval – when everything is on the verge of change.

MY FATHER’S SHADOW IS RELEASED IN CANADA ON
FEBRUARY 6, 2026

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# FIRSTLOOK: “MY FATHER’S SHADOW”

MUBI, the global distributor, streaming service and production company, shares a first look of Akinola Davies Jr.’s directorial feature debut, My Father’s Shadow, which had its World Premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes Film Festival on May 18 2025.

My Father’s Shadow is Akinola Davies Jr.’s (Lizard) directorial feature debut and stars Sope Dirisu (Slow Horses, Gangs Of London). The film is a semi-autobiographical tale set over the course of a single day in the Nigerian metropolis Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis. The story follows a father, estranged from his two young sons, as they travel through the massive city while political unrest threatens their journey home.

My Father’s Shadow is a collaboration between Element Pictures and Fatherland Productions, and based on a script by Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jr., whose previous collaboration on Lizard won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2021 and garnered a BAFTA nomination for Best British Short Film.

My Father’s Shadow was developed by BBC Film, who previously backed Lizard, and co-financed by BBC Film and the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding). The Match Factory is handling worldwide sales. MUBI has acquired all rights from Element Pictures for North America, UK, Ireland, and Turkey, with MUBI distributing in key territories including the UK/IE and US.