Discover a remarkable and rarely screened film exploring migration, race, displacement and the experience of being African in America at the end of the 1960s.
What does it mean to arrive in a country that imagines itself as a place of freedom, only to discover the limits of belonging?
As part of Soul to Soul: Cinematic Routes of Return, Sandpit Collective, in partnership with The Rose Hill, presents a special screening of Bushman, directed by David Schickele and released in 1971.
The film follows Gabriel, a young Nigerian living in San Francisco, as he navigates the city’s counterculture while confronting racism and the expectations projected onto him as an African man.
Blurring the boundaries between fiction and documentary, Bushman draws upon the experiences of its lead actor, Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam, whose own life dramatically enters the film.
Made against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, Black Power and the Nigerian Civil War, Bushman offers a complex examination of identity, migration and the relationship between Africa and its diaspora.
Instead of looking from the diaspora towards Africa, the film reverses the familiar journey. It asks what happens when an African encounters Black America—and when America encounters him.
The screening forms part of Soul to Soul: Cinematic Routes of Return, a three-film Black History Month season presented through the Other Asias Film Programme.
Through stories of independence, migration, identity, belonging and return, the season examines the historical and contemporary connections between Africa and its diasporas.
The evening will begin with a short curatorial introduction, followed by the film screening and an informal facilitated discussion. Snacks and music will follow from approximately 9pm.
The event offers audiences an opportunity to discover an important work of independent cinema and join a wider conversation about race, migration and belonging.
To help make the season accessible to the wider community, Pay What You Can tickets start from £5. Concession and standard tickets are also available.
Booking is recommended.
For enquiries, email asiasother@gmail.com.
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