Bushman Film Screening and Panel Discussion

In 1968, Peace Corps veteran David Schickele enlisted his Nigerian friend Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam to film a light-hearted comedy about the adventures of a well-educated Nigerian immigrant in San Francisco. In a docu-fictional style, reminiscent of Cassavetes’ Shadows , Okpokam’s character observes the foibles of African-American culture with an outsider's incisive eye, yielding a vibrant snapshot of the nation’s racial politics—until then everything goes sideways. After being falsely accused of terrorism, Okpokam’s life—and their film—spins out of control. The 75-minute black-and-white film was shelved for decades after its initial release but is regarded by film scholars as a milestone of Black representation in American cinema, especially in capturing the emergence of the West Coast counterculture of the era. Bushman was restored by the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Additional support was provided by Peter Conheim of the Cinema Preservation Alliance. The Museum of the Peace Corps Experience is thrilled to share this poetic and searing film, a relatively unknown work that reverberates across the decades in its shocking portrait of racism in the midst of cultural revolution. Come view the exhibit at 6:00 pm on Floor 1 of the MLK Library. The film screening and panel discussion begins at 6:30pm in the auditorium on Floor 5. Find more details on the exhibit website and learn more about the film and its restoration on the Peace Corps Worldwide website . Runtime: 73 minutes, with discussion to follow.