British filmmaker, writer, and visual artist
Akinola Davies Jr.
Born London, United Kingdom
Citizenship British Occupations Film director, screenwriter Years active 2018–present
Akinola Davies Jr. is a British-Nigerian filmmaker, writer, and visual artist. He is best known for his debut filmMy Father's Shadow ,British Independent Film Award and aGotham Independent Film Award .
Early life and education [ edit ] Davies was born in London and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and the United States. He began his career assisting photographers and filmmakers before completing a workshop at theNew York Film Academy in 2009.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
He went on to start creating music videos and commercials brands likeGucci ,Acne Studios ,Moncler ,Kenzo ,Mulberry , andLouis Vuitton .[ 4] [ 5]
His 2020 short filmLizard 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for Best British Short Film at the 2021BAFTA Awards .Lizard also received a nomination from theLondon Critics Circle Film Awards and was selected for theBFI London Film Festival andRaindance Film Festival .[ 6]
In 2025, Davies made his feature-length directorial debut withMy Father's Shadow [ 7] [ 8] My Father's Shadow premiered in theUn Certain Regard section at the2025 Cannes Film Festival , making history as the first Nigerian film selected for Cannes' official selection,[ 9] Caméra d'Or – Special Mention.[ 10] British Independent Film Award for Best Director and theGotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director .[ 11]
Year Title Role Notes Ref 2018 Contactless Director, writer Short film [ 12] 2019 Black to Life Director, writer BBC TV series [ 13] 2020 Lizard Director, co-writer Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner [ 14] 2025 My Father's Shadow Director, co-writer Feature film debut [ 15]
Awards and nominations [ edit ] ^ Randall, Melissa."Akinola Davies Jr" .NYFA . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ Bamigboye, Baz (2025-05-13)."Cannes One To Watch: How 'My Father's Shadow' Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. Crafted A Nigerian Family Story In Buzzed-About Debut" .Deadline . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ Blythe, Finn (July 11, 2025)."Akinola Davies Jr: 'I was never too good to turn my nose up at an opportunity' .The Observer . RetrievedDecember 18, 2025 . ^ Vogue (2021-06-25)."The Jury • Photo Vogue Festival 2021" .Vogue . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ "Gucci's holiday ad recreates a '90s office party that looks a lot like the '70s" .adage.com . Retrieved2025-05-21 .^ "Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr Explores Nollywood and Hollywood Overlap | OkayAfrica" .www.okayafrica.com . Retrieved2025-05-21 .^ Szalai, Georg (December 9, 2025)."Akinola Davies Jr. Confronts Family Legacy in U.K. Oscar Hopeful 'My Father's Shadow' .The Hollywood Reporter . RetrievedDecember 18, 2025 . ^ Bamigboye, Baz (May 13, 2025)."Cannes One To Watch: How 'My Father's Shadow' Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. Crafted A Nigerian Family Story In Buzzed-About Debut" .Deadline Hollywood . RetrievedDecember 18, 2025 . ^ Obi, Ifi (April 16, 2025)." .Rolling Stone Africa . RetrievedDecember 18, 2025 . ^ Rantala, Hanna; Murray, Miranda; Murray, Miranda (2025-05-20)."Nigeria's first film in Cannes lineup explores masculinity, family dynamics" .Reuters . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ Ritman, Alex (November 25, 2025)." .Variety . RetrievedDecember 18, 2025 . ^ Dazed (2018-04-22)."Watch three films predicting what fashion will look like in 2030" .Dazed . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ "BBC - Alt History - Why I made the series 'Black to Life' .BBC . Retrieved2025-05-21 .^ BellaNaija.com (2021-02-03)."Akinola Davies Jr's "Lizard" wins Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival" .BellaNaija . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ tkhaldi (2025-05-18)."My Father's Shadow as seen by Akinola Davies Jr" .Festival de Cannes . Retrieved2025-05-21 . ^ Boyce, Laurence (4 September 2025)."The BFI London Film Festival lifts the lid on the titles for its 69th edition" .Cineuropa Archived from the original on 4 September 2025. Retrieved8 September 2025 . ^ "Bafta Film Awards 2021: The winners and nominees in full" .BBC News . 11 April 2021. Retrieved12 April 2021 .^ "Winners and Nominations" .BIFA . 4 December 2020. Retrieved10 March 2021 .^ Jeremy Kay (10 September 2025)." .ScreenDaily . Retrieved12 September 2025 . ^ "Festival Award Winners" .Cinema Chicago . Retrieved2025-10-25 .^ Pedersen, Jill Goldsmith,Erik (2025-12-02)."Gotham Awards Winners: Three For Jafar Panahi, Two For 'My Father's Shadow' – Updating Live" .Deadline . Retrieved2025-12-02 . {{cite web }}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )^ Naman Ramachandran, Udita Jhunjhunwala (28 November 2025)."Transgender Vietnamese Drama 'Skin of Youth' Wins Top Prize at International Film Festival of India" .Variety . Retrieved29 November 2025 . ^ Ramachandran, Naman (12 January 2021)." .Variety . Retrieved13 January 2021 . ^ " .Europa Press . Retrieved15 November 2025 .^ "2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced" .www.sundance.org .Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved2021-02-08 .
