IMDb > Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
Searching for Sugar Man
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Searching for Sugar Man (2012) More at IMDbPro »

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Searching for Sugar Man -- Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.
Searching for Sugar Man -- Clip: Soundtrack To Our Lives
Searching for Sugar Man -- Trailer 2 for Searching for Sugar Man
Searching for Sugar Man -- Trailer for Searching for Sugar Man
Searching for Sugar Man -- Trailer for Searching for Sugar Man

Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   16,353 votes »
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Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Malik Bendjelloul
Writers:
Malik Bendjelloul (written by) and
Craig Bartholomew Strydom (article)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Searching for Sugar Man on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 July 2012 (UK) See more »
Genre:
Documentary | Biography | Music See more »
Plot:
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 27 wins & 17 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(660 articles)
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User Reviews:
An odyssey of discovery, even self-discovery See more (79 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman ... Himself - Record Shop Owner
Dennis Coffey ... Himself - Co-Producer, Cold Fact 1970
Mike Theodore ... Himself - Co-Producer, Cold Fact 1970
Dan DiMaggio ... Himself - Bartender, The Brewery
Jerome Ferretti ... Himself - Bricklayer
Steve Rowland ... Himself - Producer, Coming from Reality 1971
Willem Möller ... Himself - Musician
Craig Bartholomew Strydom ... Himself - Music Journalist
Ilse Assmann ... Herself - Former Apartheid Archivist
Steve M. Harris ... Himself - Teal Trutone
Robbie Mann ... Himself - RPM Records

Clarence Avant ... Himself - Former Chairman of Motown Records
Eva Rodriguez ... Herself - Rodriguez's Eldest Daughter

Rodriguez ... Himself (as Sixto Rodriguez)
Regan Rodriguez ... Herself - Rodriguez's Youngest Daughter
Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy ... Herself - Rodriguez's Middle Daughter
Rick Emmerson ... Himself - Construction Worker Colleague
Rian Malan ... Himself - Journalist and Writer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Malik Bendjelloul ... Himself - Interviewer (uncredited)

Directed by
Malik Bendjelloul 
 
Writing credits
Malik Bendjelloul (written by)

Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman  article 'Sugar and the Sugar Man'
Craig Bartholomew Strydom  article 'Looking for Jesus' (as Craig Bartholomew-Strydom)

Produced by
John Battsek .... executive producer
Malik Bendjelloul .... producer
George Chignell .... co-producer: Passion Pictures (as George Ghignell)
Simon Chinn .... producer
Sheryl Crown .... executive producer: The Documentary Company
Malla Grapengiesser .... co-producer: Hysteria Film
Maggie Monteith .... executive producer: The Documentary Company
Hjalmar Palmgren .... executive producer: SVT
Andrew Ruhemann .... executive producer: Passion Pictures
Peter Schildt .... consultant producer: Saperi Film Sweden AB
Nicole Stott .... co-producer: Passion Pictures
 
Cinematography by
Camilla Skagerström (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Malik Bendjelloul 
 
Production Management
Ida Svenonius .... digital intermediate and technical supervisor
Fredrik Zander .... post-production producer: The Chimney Pot
 
Art Department
Malik Bendjelloul .... illustrator
Oskar Gullstrand .... graphics: Naive
Linus Kullman .... graphics: Naive
Jonas Lindman .... graphics: Naive
 
Sound Department
Linda Dalin .... sound post-production coordinator
Linda Dalin .... sound post-production coordinator: Ljudligan
Fredrik Jonsäter .... sound editor: Ljudligan (as Fredrik 'Frippe' Jonsäter)
Per Nyström .... sound designer: Ljudligan
Per Nyström .... sound re-recording mixer: Ljudligan
 
Visual Effects by
Axel Hallgren .... cg animator: Filmtecknarna
Axel Hallgren .... compositor: Filmtecknarna
Olle Petersson .... visual effects (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Malik Bendjelloul .... additional camera
Nadia Hallgren .... additional camera
Dale Hunt .... crane operator assistant
Emil Klang .... additional camera
Stephen Knight .... key grip
Hjalmar Palmgren .... additional camera
Ann-Sofie Rase .... additional camera
Eva Rodriguez .... additional camera
Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman .... additional camera
Sam Wallace .... crane operator
 
Animation Department
Joel Edlund .... backgrounds: Filmtecknarna
Linda Hambäck .... animation producer: Filmtecknarna
Martin Nyberg .... classic animator: Filmtecknarna
Johan Sonestedt .... classic animator: Filmtecknarna
Arvid Steen .... director of animation: Filmtecknarna
Susanne Sturesson .... classic animator: Filmtecknarna
Simon Stålenhag .... backgrounds: Filmtecknarna
Veronica Wallenberg .... classic animator: Filmtecknarna
 
Editorial Department
Hans Crispin .... digital media: The Chimney Pot
Kenna Grünn .... encoding technician: The Chimney Pot
Kaj Ivanovic .... digital colour grader: The Chimney Pot
Cattis Legelius .... digital media coordinator: The Chimney Pot
Anneli Oscarsson .... post-production coordinator: The Chimney Pot
Ida Svenonius .... digital intermediate: The Chimney Pot
Ida Svenonius .... technical advisor: The Chimney Pot
Bernhard Winkler .... additional editor
Mathieu Reid .... color timer (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Malik Bendjelloul .... additional score
Rodriguez .... original songs (as Sixto Rodriguez)
 
Other crew
Malik Bendjelloul .... title designer: opening titles
Jonathan Blair .... legal services: Michael Simkins LLP
Josh Braun .... distribution adviser: North America, Submarine Entertainment
E.B. Busi .... personal super 8 archive
Serena Catapano .... production assistant
Johan Christianson .... legal services: Strömberg & Partners
Oskar Gullstrand .... title designer: Naive
Steve Hilton-Barber .... stills archive
Micaela Kedian .... personal super 8 archive
Linus Kullman .... title designer: Naive
Jonas Lindman .... title designer: Naive
Lars Lindström .... film commissioner: The Swedish Film Institute (as Lars G. Lindström)
Rodriguez .... stills archive (as Sixto Rodriguez)
Eva Rodriguez .... home video recording: South African Tour, 1998
Eva Rodriguez .... stills archive
Regan Rodriguez .... stills archive
Lloyd Ross .... director: Voëlvry The Movie
Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman .... article: 'Sugar and the Sugar Man'
Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman .... stills archive (as Stephen Segerman)
Tonia Selley .... director: Dead Men Don't Tour
Craig Bartholomew Strydom .... article: 'Looking for Jesus' (as Craig Bartholomew-Strydom)
Ben White .... for: White & Company, The Documentary Company
Emma White .... for: White & Company, The Documentary Company
Hal Wilson .... stills archive
Obed Zilwa .... stills archive
Cameron Arguelles .... quality control (uncredited)
 
Thanks
Marinella Angusti .... very special thanks
Erik Arvinder .... special thanks
Tell Aulin .... special thanks
Peter Barachkov II .... very special thanks
Peter Barachkov III .... very special thanks
Daniel A. Baxter .... special thanks
Hacène Bendjelloul .... very special thanks
Johar Bendjelloul .... very special thanks
Wanda Bendjelloul .... special thanks
Philippa Berrington-Blew .... special thanks
Kristian Bjureby .... special thanks
Pierre Björk .... special thanks
Rikard Borggård .... special thanks
Sarajane Bourke .... special thanks
Love Bråding .... special thanks
Bonie Bulyk .... very special thanks
Henrik S. Burman .... special thanks
Anna Byvald .... special thanks
Johan Carlberg .... special thanks
Jonah Chinn .... very special thanks
Lara Chinn .... very special thanks
Christian Christensen .... special thanks
Brian Currin .... very special thanks
Peter Davis .... special thanks
Yolandi Degenaar .... special thanks
Nathalie Drago .... special thanks
Thomas Eby .... special thanks
Therese Elfström .... special thanks
Tinus Engelbrecht .... special thanks
Bobo Ericzén .... very special thanks
Moussa Fadera .... special thanks
Hanro Friedrich .... special thanks
Niklas Gabrielsson .... special thanks
Jessika Gedin .... special thanks
Per-Axel Gjöres .... very special thanks
Daniel Hager .... special thanks
Lennart Hager .... special thanks
Haroun Hameed .... very special thanks
Alex Haridi .... special thanks
Christina Herrström .... very special thanks
Pål Hollender .... special thanks
Jonas Holmberg .... special thanks
Ida Högström .... special thanks
Thomas Johansson .... special thanks
Eva-Lena Jonsson .... special thanks
Micaela Kedian .... very special thanks
James Kennedy .... special thanks
Voula Kereklidou .... special thanks
Emil Klang .... very special thanks
Karin af Klintberg .... very special thanks
Johan Larsson .... special thanks
Hanna Lejonqvist .... very special thanks
Sanna Lenken .... special thanks
Åsa Linderborg .... special thanks
Stefanie Losiowski .... very special thanks
Josefin Lundgren .... special thanks
Kristian Luuk .... special thanks
Maria Magnusson .... very special thanks
James Marsh .... very special thanks
Calle Marthin .... very special thanks
Alec McCrindle .... very special thanks
Helene Miksche .... very special thanks: Bird & Bird
Meghann Murray .... very special thanks
Paul Möllerstedt .... special thanks
Jesper Nordenstrøm .... special thanks (as Jesper Nordenström)
Mayibuye 'Mighty' Ntsatha .... special thanks
Marie Nyreröd .... special thanks
Björn Peters .... special thanks
Kristina Peters-Gärderup .... special thanks
Ann-Sofie Rase .... very special thanks
Rayma Rawa .... very special thanks
Ole Reitov .... special thanks: Freemuse
Gregory Rintoul .... special thanks
Johan Ripås .... very special thanks
The Rodriguez Family .... very special thanks
Konny Rodriguez .... very special thanks
Lloyd Ross .... special thanks
Chuck Roy .... special thanks
Paula Ruotsalainen .... special thanks
John Samson .... very special thanks
Anna Mathilde Schildt .... very special thanks (as Anna-Mathilde Schildt)
Johannes Schildt .... very special thanks
Peter Schildt .... very special thanks
Veronica Schildt-Bendjelloul .... very special thanks
The Segerman Family .... very special thanks
Daniell Segerman .... special thanks
Natalia Segerman .... special thanks
Rafi Segerman .... special thanks
Ronit Segerman .... special thanks
Tonia Selley .... very special thanks (as Tonia Selley Möller)
Christina Simon .... special thanks
Per Sinding-Larsen .... very special thanks
Carina Sjögren .... very special thanks
Martin Sjögren .... special thanks
Sara Sjöö .... special thanks
Stefan Storm .... very special thanks
Matt Sullivan .... very special thanks
Philip Sundbom .... special thanks
Kai Sundquist .... special thanks
Ola Tappert .... special thanks (as Ola Wilhelm Tappert)
Therese Uddenfeldt .... special thanks
Andreas Unge .... special thanks
Martin Vidlund .... special thanks
Mabu Vinly .... special thanks
Anna-Karin Von Malmborg .... special thanks
John Von Sydow .... very special thanks
Mary J. Wallace .... special thanks
Jan Wallentin .... special thanks
Robert Weil .... very special thanks
Stefan Wrenfeldt .... special thanks
Cajsa Zerhouni .... special thanks
Peter Zerhouni .... special thanks
Mats Ågren .... special thanks
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies

Additional Details

Also Known As:
See more »
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some drug references
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
86 min
Country:
Sweden | UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color | Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 | Japan:G | Sweden:Btl | Australia:M | Switzerland:12 | Singapore:PG13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12
Filming Locations:
Cape Town, South AfricaSee more »
Company:
Red Box FilmsSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Some parts of the documentary were shot on an iPhone App called 8mm Vintage Camera after the producers ran out of film for an expensive real 8mm camera. The app cost only £1.49/$1.99.See more »
Quotes:
Rick Emmerson:What he's demonstrated, very clearly, is that you have a choice. He took all that torment, all that agony, all that confusion and pain, and he transformed it into something beautiful. He's like the silkworm, you know? You take this raw material, and you transform it...See more »
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 85th Oscars (2013) (TV)See more »
Soundtrack:
I Think of YouSee more »

FAQ

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User Reviews

   (Review this title)
73 out of 75 people found the following review useful.
An odyssey of discovery, even self-discovery, 26 August 2012
Author: Howard Schumann from Vancouver, B.C.

Sixto Rodriguez, a little known American folk-rock singer/songwriter in the tradition of Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens, released two albums in the early 1970s, Cold Fact, and Coming From Reality but failed to achieve any popularity. Though praised by critics, his haunting songs about love and loss, drugs and politics, such as "I Wonder," "Cause," and "Sugar Man" should have been hits, but, for some reason, were not. After a minor tour in Australia that brought neither success nor recognition, he was dropped from his record label and was not publicly heard from again.

Winner of the Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul's moving documentary Searching for Sugar Man investigates the life of Rodriguez who grew up in a run-down working class area of Detroit, Michigan and worked mostly as a manual laborer, singing at night in small, smoke-filled bars. A friend who remembers him at the time says, "There was something mysterious about him. He looked like a drifter." The film demonstrates Rodriguez' striking presence using a mix of songs, interviews with those who knew him or knew about him, animation, and archival photos.

Though no one knows exactly how, his albums somehow made their way to South Africa and circulated among white Afrikaans musicians. All of this led to a growing mystique about an artist that no one knew anything about. Rumors began to circulate that, during an unsuccessful concert, he shot himself in the head or died from a drug overdose, but no one knew for sure how he died. The film begins when Cape Town record shop owner and music fan Stephen Segerman, whose nickname "Sugar Man" mirrors one of Rodriguez' most famous songs, meets music journalist Craig Bartholomew-Strydom and the two undertake to investigate what had happened to him.

We find out that his album Cold Fact was distributed on a small South African label, that one of his songs, Sugar Man, was banned on the government-run radio station for its drug references, and that the anti-establishment lyrics of his songs such as The Establishment Blues struck a responsive chord with the growing student involvement in the anti-apartheid movement, and led indirectly to the Afrikaner protest musicians of the '80s. When Segerman and Bartholomew begin their investigation to uncover the mystery of Sixto Rodriguez, they take a cue from Watergate and decide to "follow the money." As each layer is unpeeled, it only adds another mystery.

Though his albums are said to have sold half a million records, speculation is rife with questions about what happened to the money and an interview with, Clarence Avant, the boss of Motown adds more heat than light. What the music detectives eventually find is not only surprising but extremely poignant, and it is best for viewers to find this out for themselves. The film is an odyssey of discovery, even self-discovery, that is a profoundly inspiring celebration of a man and his music. More than just a film about music and musicians, however, it is about the human condition. Though it reveals its secrets slowly, when it hits you, it is with an astonishing burst of power that you can feel in your bones. Searching for Sugar Man is one of the best films of the year.

Was the above review useful to you?
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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
No Mention Of Australia deadskinmask-2
Good subject, bad documentarians? tpupkin
Smells fishy ... the_headspace
All white audience ciocio-2
26 homes or one for 40 years? damiancorrigan-1
Am I the only one who thought.... jb2-8
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