#8 Representing Fatherhood in Film - Presence, Absence and Perspectives

#8 Representing Fatherhood in Film - Presence, Absence and Perspectives

For our new episode, we talk about fatherhood. We ask how fatherhood is constructed on screen: Whose perspective do we inhabit? What kinds of masculinity are attached to being a father? And what happens when love, responsibility, work, money and social expectations pull in different directions?

We discuss three films from different contexts: Adrian Goiginger’s Rickerl - Musik is höchstens a Hobby (AT/DE 2023), Barbara Wolfram & Paulus Wagner’s short film Walter L. (AT 2025), and Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow (UK/Nigeria 2025).

Across the three films, we ask: Is “being there” a privilege? Who can actually choose presence when work, money and social expectations intervene? What kinds of fatherhood are rewarded, forgiven or punished? And are fathers allowed a kind of narrative forgiveness that mothers are not? We also look at the relationship between fatherhood and masculinity. Are contemporary films really expanding the possibilities of being a man and a father or are they simply offering different ways for men to prove their worth?