Bushman

Neglected since its release in 1971, Bushman follows a Nigerian student in San Francisco but is interrupted by the arrest of its leading man.

1968. Few Americans are aware of a civil war in Nigeria entering its second year. In San Francisco, Gabriel, a young Nigerian intellectual, observes the turbulence of the Civil Rights Movement as they wander the city’s streets. However, the film shifts dramatically when the director interrupts the narrative to announce that the actor playing Gabriel has been wrongfully arrested and imprisoned.

With a docu-fictional style that recalls Cassavetes’ Shadows, Bushman is a vibrant snapshot of racial politics and counterculture told from the incisive perspective of an individual treated as an outsider. Shot in 1968, but not completed until 1971, the film vividly captures a well-documented period of history, but with a specificity that complicates established narratives.