diff --git a/libretro-common/file/file_path.c b/libretro-common/file/file_path.c
index a12be47ab2..926e837ad4 100644
--- a/libretro-common/file/file_path.c
+++ b/libretro-common/file/file_path.c
@@ -407,15 +407,29 @@ bool fill_pathname_parent_dir_name(char *out_dir,
       last      = find_last_slash(temp);
    }
 
+   /* Cut the last part of the string (the filename) after the slash,
+      leaving the directory name (or nested directory names) only. */
    if (last)
       *last     = '\0';
 
+   /* Point in_dir to the address of the last slash. */
    in_dir       = find_last_slash(temp);
 
+   /* If find_last_slash returns NULL, it means there was no slash in temp,
+      so use temp as-is. */
+   if (!in_dir)
+       in_dir   = temp;
+
    success      = in_dir && in_dir[1];
 
    if (success)
-      strlcpy(out_dir, in_dir + 1, size);
+   {
+       /* If path starts with an slash, eliminate it. */
+       if (path_is_absolute(in_dir))
+           strlcpy(out_dir, in_dir + 1, size);
+       else
+           strlcpy(out_dir, in_dir, size);
+   }
 
    free(temp);
    return success;