Akinola Davies Jr. and his brother Wale made My Father's Shadow—a film about their father's death and the conversations their Nigerian family never had. But making the film didn't "heal" them the way people expect. And Akinola is honest about that.
We talk about grief, family silence, and the quiet hope that creating something can help you process what you never got to say.
If this conversation resonates with you, watch the full episode for the deeper story: youtube.com/watch?v=PiZOUs0yPtA
And don’t forget to check out My Father’s Shadow in theaters near you: mubi.com/en/myfathersshadow
0:00 - Four siblings, scattered across continents
0:24 - Following the family path to the UK
1:08 - The moment he read Wale's script
1:35 - How they work together (writer + visual thinker)
2:00 - "The film can offer an avenue to healing"
2:30 - The intention vs the reality
2:57 - "We never communally spoke about it"
3:18 - What the film actually did: gave them something to hold on to