Published in the New York Times | August 29, 2013

Family problems with delicate solutions

By John Anderson

Among the Yoruba of Africa, said Andrew Dosunmu, the Nigerian-born director and photographer, uncles are held in special regard. “If my uncle walks in here,” he said over lunch in Brooklyn, “I introduce him as my dad, because he’s responsible for me if my father’s not around. Your uncle is the same as your dad. The idea is, it’s the same blood, and there’s an obligation.”

Fathers, uncles and paternal responsibility are at the core of “Mother of George,” a new drama from Mr. Dosunmu, whose fiction feature, “Restless City,” was a bold debut with striking imagery. The follow-up, opening on Sept. 13 in New York, has been called “visually splendid” by Manohla Dargis in The New York Times. An acclaimed photographer, Mr. Dosunmu has a background in fashion and advertising that informs his approach to the movie camera. And his eye for design has led him from Lagos, to Paris, to Johannesburg and, 17 years ago, to New York.

“Sometimes, I have to look at old passports and say, ‘When exactly did I get here?’ ” he said, with his high-pitched laugh. “But I’ve spent half of my life in America. And ‘Mother of George’ is just a different voice in the immigrant’s tale of New York City.”

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More Information

• Learn more about Mother of George and watch the official trailer