Bushman (DVD)

In 1968, Peace Corps veteran David Schickele enlisted his friend Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam to star in a light-hearted drama about the adventures of a well-educated Nigerian immigrant in San Francisco. Using a docu-fictional style reminiscent of John Cassavetes’ Shadows (1959), Bushman observes the foibles of late-1960s African-American culture with an outsider’s incisive
eye. The film morphs into a documentary when the director’s voice abruptly intrudes to narrate its star’s fate: Okpokam was accused of a crime he did not commit and found himself at the mercy of the US justice system. Bushman has been restored by the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Peter Conheim, Cinema Preservation Alliance.