My Father’s Shadow—the directorial debut from Akinola Davies Jr—is a semi-autobiographical film about two young brothers, Akin and Remi, as they follow their distant father Fola (Sope Dirisu) through Lagos over the course of one day. The political backdrop—the civil unrest that followed Nigeria’s 1993 presidential election and the thwarted victory of MKO Abiola—means that fatherhood takes on multiple resonances. “I think those two things—Nigeria not getting this father figure and the boys not getting their father figure—married each other pretty well,” says Davies Jr.
Via the link in bio, @jasebyjason speaks to @akinoladaviesjr about the film’s personal inspirations, its reception in Cannes and his ambitions as a director.
BTS photography by @lsouthy
My Father’s Shadow is in cinemas from 6th February
DJ, painter, daddy, forklift driver! There’s nothing Skepta can’t do, just don’t ask him what he’s doing tomorrow. My interview with the grime legend for Fantastic Man no. 41, landing on newsstands 18 September. Photography by Oliver Hadlee Pearch and styling by Gerry O’Kane. With thanks to @eliothaworth , @gertjonkers and @studiojopvanbennekom .
VALENTINE’S DAY: REVOLUTIONARY ACTS, which is out now in paperback, was informed by the stories of love shared with me by Black men. The above is an image of Dennis Carney and the late African American poet Essex Hemphill, who were transatlantic lovers. Some of the most interesting reflections on love came from these men who recalled past lovers, those who transformed them, those who had died, and those who had hurt or tried to destroy them.
Love in REVOLUTIONARY ACTS is romantic and sexual, but also love in the form of care, community, pedagogy and trust. The title of this book came from Joseph Beam’s treatise on the role of love in the time of AIDS.
“The State, composed of suburbanites and people who have gentrified our neighborhoods, doesn’t give a damn about Black Gay men and IV drug users and it would be a fatal mistake if we were to relinquish our responsibility for AIDS in the Black community to such an external mechanism… Black men loving Black men is the revolutionary action of the 80s.” JOSEPH BEAM, “CARING FOR EACH OTHER,” BLACK/OUT, 1986
You can order REVOLUTIONARY ACTS now from your preferred retailer ❤️
Revolutionary Acts is out in paperback on February 13th with this beautiful new cover featuring @ajamustudios . A lot of words I could say about this book, and touring it around for a year, but I’m not finding them right now so I’ll save that for another time.
Cheaper, lighter and easy to carry around. Order now from your preferred retailer at the link in my bio
Revolutionary Acts is published today.
This is the book I was always meant to write. A social history of Black British gay men, but also a history of South London, and something which asks broader questions around who is remembered and what what we preserve of ordinary Black people in this country.
This book is dedicated to the memory of my late dad, for all the questions I was never able to ask him. I’m grateful that through this community of father figures I’ve found through writing Revolutionary Acts, my curiosities about the past have been nourished, before it was too late. That much is enough, and I am thankful to them. For the stories they have shared with me I owe them everything. The parties, the gossip, the activism, the fights, the sex, the love, the glamour, all of the messy, funny, furious, and heartbreaking details which make up a life are contained in here. I hope you all love this book as much as I have loved writing it.
You can buy Revolutionary Acts at any of the retailers linked in my bio/stories, or go out and get it from your local bookshop 🖤☎️ @faberbooks
