Akinola Davies Jr

Akinola Davies Jr is a British-Nigerian filmmaker, writer and visual artist known for the Sundance-winning short Lizard and his feature debut, My Father's Shadow.

Star Mover ranking

Not ranked in Entertainment yet

0 points

No points are shown in this support ranking yet.

Sign in to Move Up

Profile

About Akinola Davies Jr

Profile information current to 2026-08-19.

Nigeria; United Kingdom · Filmmaker, Writer, Visual artist · 1 affiliation

Show full profile Hide full profile

Also known as: Akinola Davies, Jr.
Known for: Film direction; Screenwriting; British-Nigerian cinema
Country: Nigeria; United Kingdom

Filmmaker
Writer
Visual artist

At a glance

His short film Lizard won the Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize in 2021.
His first feature, My Father's Shadow, screened in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section and received a Caméra d'or Special Mention in 2025.
Davies and Wale Davies won BAFTA's Outstanding Debut award for My Father's Shadow in 2026.

Background and creative practice

Davies works across filmmaking, writing and visual art. According to a 2025 Observer interview profile, he was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents and moved to Lagos at age three. His work is associated with British-Nigerian cinema.

Short-film breakthrough

Davies participated in the BFI NETWORK@LFF talent lab in 2019. His short film Lizard later won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, establishing a significant early international recognition for his directing.

Feature-film debut

Davies made his feature debut as director and screenwriter of My Father's Shadow. The film screened in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section in 2025 and received a Caméra d'or Special Mention; in 2026, Davies and Wale Davies received BAFTA's Outstanding Debut award for the film.

Affiliations

BFI NETWORK Participant in the BFI NETWORK@LFF talent lab 2019–2019

Timeline

2021 Lizard, directed by Davies, won the Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize.
2025 Davies made his feature-film debut with My Father's Shadow, which screened in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section.
2025-05-24 My Father's Shadow received a Caméra d'or Special Mention at Cannes.
2026-02-22 Davies and Wale Davies won BAFTA's Outstanding Debut award for My Father's Shadow.

Additional verified details

Biographical facts

According to a 2025 Observer interview profile, Davies was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents and moved to Lagos at age three.
My Father's Shadow was Davies's first feature film; Cannes credits him as its director and screenwriter.