Ahead of its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, My Father’s Shadow, the feature debut from upcoming filmmaker Akinola Davies Jnr., has secured French distribution through Le Pacte.

The film stars Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (His House, Gangs of London) in a leading role and marks Davies Jnr.’s much-anticipated transition to feature filmmaking, following the BAFTA-nominated and Sundance-winning short Lizard.

My Father’s Shadow is a semi-autobiographical tale set over the course of a single day in the Nigerian capital 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.

Paris-based distribution powerhouse Le Pacte will handle the film’s French release and has expressed strong enthusiasm for the project. Alice Labadie, Acquisitions Director at Le Pacte, stated: “We are beyond thrilled and proud to be working with Akinola Davies Jnr. on his first film. We feel he is a unique filmmaker, and will count as one of the most important new voices in cinema.”

The film is produced by Rachel Dargavel for Element Pictures and Funmbi Ogunbanwo for Fatherland Productions. Executive Producers are Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe for Element Pictures, Eva Yates for BBC Film and Ama Amapadu for the BFI. Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jnr. act as executive producers.