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.