Shadow of Success: Nigerian Drama Dominates British Independent Film Awards Nominations
Akinola Davies Jr's debut feature, My Father's Shadow, is leading the pack at this year's prestigious British Independent Film Awards (Bifas), raking up a total of 12 nominations. The Nigeria-set drama takes home top honors in several categories, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director for Akinola Davies Jr, and Best Screenplay for Wale Davies, his brother. While Pillion, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones's coming-of-age story, secured 10 nominations, and biopic I Swear garnered nine, My Father's Shadow stands out as a frontrunner.
Cannes debut did not go unnoticed. The film received glowing reviews from critics, including The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, who described it as "a transparently personal project" with the director skillfully weaving a coming-of-age narrative about two young boys encountering their absent father for the first time. The film premiered in Nigeria and is set to hit UK theaters later this year.
Pillion, meanwhile, had its own successful premiere at Cannes, where Bradshaw praised it as "an intensely English story of romance, devotion, and loss" from director Harry Lighton. The British drama boasts a star-studded cast, with Harry Melling up for Best Lead Performance.
Biopic I Swear, chronicling the life of Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson, has also secured nominations in several categories, including Best Director for Kirk Jones and Best Lead Performance for Robert Aramayo.
The Bifas ceremony will take place on November 30th in London.
Akinola Davies Jr's debut feature, My Father's Shadow, is leading the pack at this year's prestigious British Independent Film Awards (Bifas), raking up a total of 12 nominations. The Nigeria-set drama takes home top honors in several categories, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director for Akinola Davies Jr, and Best Screenplay for Wale Davies, his brother. While Pillion, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones's coming-of-age story, secured 10 nominations, and biopic I Swear garnered nine, My Father's Shadow stands out as a frontrunner.
Cannes debut did not go unnoticed. The film received glowing reviews from critics, including The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, who described it as "a transparently personal project" with the director skillfully weaving a coming-of-age narrative about two young boys encountering their absent father for the first time. The film premiered in Nigeria and is set to hit UK theaters later this year.
Pillion, meanwhile, had its own successful premiere at Cannes, where Bradshaw praised it as "an intensely English story of romance, devotion, and loss" from director Harry Lighton. The British drama boasts a star-studded cast, with Harry Melling up for Best Lead Performance.
Biopic I Swear, chronicling the life of Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson, has also secured nominations in several categories, including Best Director for Kirk Jones and Best Lead Performance for Robert Aramayo.
The Bifas ceremony will take place on November 30th in London.
what's up with all these British drama films getting nominated at the Bifas? like, I get it, Nigeria is on the rise but can't we get some more diverse voices on that list? 
I mean, it's no surprise that Akinola Davies Jr's My Father's Shadow is raking up all these nominations, considering how well-received it was at Cannes. The fact that critics like Peter Bradshaw are praising its personal touch and coming-of-age narrative just adds to the excitement.
. Fingers crossed for My Father's Shadow, though - if they win, it'll be a major upset and prove that Nigerian storytelling can shake things up in the UK film scene! 
Wale Davies' screenplay is like, totally genius - can't wait to see how he wins Best Screenplay at Bifas 
but I'm still team My Father's Shadow all the way 
can't wait to see what happens at the Bifas ceremony on Nov 30th 
. And 12 nominations? That's wild! I'm curious to know more about the British Independent Film Awards and what it takes for a film to stand out in such a competitive field. 
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and btw pillion and i swear are also really good but my father's shadow has a personal touch that makes it stand out 
! Anyway, I'm definitely rooting for My Father's Shadow at the Bifas - fingers crossed it takes home those top honors 
!
. I mean, don't get me wrong, My Father's Shadow is a great film and all, but 12 nominations? That's just too many to keep track of 
. And what's with all these duplicates in categories? It feels like some films are getting snubbed in favor of others that aren't even as good 
. And don't even get me started on how crowded the lead performance categories are - it's like they want to give everyone a trophy 
. November 30th can't come soon enough so we can finally watch some of these films and figure out who deserves what 
. Meanwhile, Pillion and I Swear are cool and all, but My Father's Shadow has something special going on here 
. Can't wait to see it hit the UK theaters later this year!
. Fingers crossed My Father's Shadow takes home some major awards at the Bifas ceremony on Nov 30th 
!
my dad said he saw a trailer for it at the cinema last week and he was really impressed by the cinematography 
. Can't wait to catch it in UK theaters later this year! 
. and i swear, who else can make a biopic about tourette syndrome look as compelling as i swear? 
he loved it like so much! anyway back to this news... i dont get why they have so many categories for Best Director its all like who gets to be the boss right? 