My Father’s Shadow has finally landed itself a UK release date after receiving critical acclaim at film festivals earlier this year, including at Cannes, where it was the first ever Nigerian film to be included in the Official Selection.
The film is set across a single day in the Nigerian city of Lagos against the backdrop of the infamous 1993 presidential elections, one of the major moments in a long period of political crisis in the country.
Partly based on the real-life experience of director Akinola Davies Jr and his brother/the film’s writer Wale Davies, the story follows two young boys as they travel across Lagos with their father, with the unrest in the city threatening their journey home.
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Slow Horses’ Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù plays the boys’ father, Folarin. As the Davies brothers’ real-life father died when they were both very young, they mostly had to base Dìrísù’s role mostly on stories they had been told.
Distributor MUBI has announced that the film will premiere in the UK on 17 October at the BFI London Film Festival, and will then have a theatrical release across the UK and Ireland from 6 February, 2026.
Mubi
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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a near-perfect score, with 95% positive from 20 collected critic reviews.
Variety praised Dìrísù for delivering “a revelatory performance that should put him at the top of casting lists, ground[ing] fantasy with a realistically intense but quiet performance”.
The casting of Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo as the young brothers was further described as “the filmmakers’ other master stroke”.
Mubi
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“This is a beautifully rendered film about the kind of loss that permanently rips you apart,” reads RogerEbert.com‘s review, which also noted the “enrapturing score that oscillates between ethereal highs and moody lows”.
The Guardian further called it “a rich, heartfelt and rewarding movie”, while The Hollywood Reporter called it “elegant and stirring”.
My Father’s Shadow releases in UK and Irish cinemas on 6 February, 2026, following a premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I’m a Fish.