Give Me a Riddle (1966, documentary)

David Schickele, filmmaker and musician, writing about his 1966 documentary on life in Nigeria, Give Me a Riddle:

“I first went to Nigeria as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1961. I went back in 1966 to make a documentary about Nigeria. I went back again in 1972 to write an article about the Biafran war. Physically, emotionally, and intellectually, Nigeria was one of the great adventures of my life. Nigeria became an independent country in 1960. In 1967 it was torn apart by civil war. Between these two events Nigeria enjoyed a kind of golden age, full of cultural ferment and cross-tribal fertilization. Every kid out of the village was writing the great Nigerian novel. A spirit of great hope prevailed through the land. I made a movie called “Give me a Riddle” about this golden age, seen through the eyes of ex-Peace Corps volunteer Roger Landrum, returning to his host country a couple of years after his Peace Corps service as a teacher at the University of Nigeria. The film follows Roger as he looks up his old student friends, travels with them to their homes, talks with them about their lives and the life of their country. Shot in 1966, the film is a time capsule of a Nigeria and a Peace Corps both in the rambunctious bloom of youth.”