20 Best Movies Of 2026 (So Far)
14. My Father's Shadow
Much like Blue Heron, My Father's Shadow finds an exemplary new filmmaker taking a deep and healing look at his own life through the art of moving pictures.
Directed by Akinola Davies Jr, co-written with his brother, Wale, the drama follows a pair of young brothers (Godwin Egbo and Chibuike Egbo) as they spend a day with their father (Sope Dirisu) within the political unrest of the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, an event that shapes their view of their family, and their country.
Powerfully performed, particularly by a conflicted but loving Dirisu, My Father's Shadow is a film that contains multitudes, at once a political statement, a family saga, a coming-of-age ode to lives changed by unseen forces, and a stunning piece of confessional storytelling.
Meditative and thrilling in equal measure, Akinola Davies Jr's debut is a stirring masterwork for everyone to seek out, sink into, and maybe even learn from.