My Father’s Shadow made its global streaming debut on Netflix on September 21, 2026, bringing one of the most decorated Nigerian films of recent years to audiences worldwide. The film stars British-Nigerian actor Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù alongside newcomers Godwin Chiemerie Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, and follows two young brothers navigating Lagos with their estranged father against the backdrop of the tense June 12, 1993 presidential election crisis.
Since premiering at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film has become the first Nigerian film ever selected for the festival’s Official Selection, and it went on to win a Caméra d’Or Special Mention. It later picked up the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, swept the 2026 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards with wins for Best Overall Movie, Best Director and Best Writing, and earned the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director.
On the business side, the film crossed the one million dollar mark in global box office receipts across Nigeria, the UK and other international markets, a rare milestone for a Nigerian arthouse title.
The Netflix release also comes shortly after Davies was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of its 2026 class, another marker of how far the film’s reach has grown since its festival debut. Because the film’s earlier run was limited to festivals and a theatrical release, this Netflix debut is the first time most Nigerians at home and abroad can actually watch it, making it the widest access point yet to one of the most talked about Nigerian stories in recent memory.
