My Father’s Shadow

A mesmerizing dream play about a father's odyssey through Lagos with his two sons, during a defining day in the family's and nation's life.

Akinola Davies Jr.'s debut film, which is the UK Oscar submission and which received an honorary mention at Cannes, is an at once breathtaking and serene story about Folarin and his two sons during a day and night in the dramatic election year of 1993. Struggling to provide for his family and at the same time being a present father, he harbors hopes that Nigeria will become a democracy and life easier. As the day wears on, the bond with his sons grows stronger, and so do the signs of a city and country in free fall.

• Katarina Hedrén