Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.

Director:

Malik Bendjelloul

Writers:

Malik Bendjelloul, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman (article)

Stars:

Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey

Won 1 Oscar. Another 43 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman	...	Self - Record Shop Owner
Dennis Coffey	...	Self - Co-Producer, Cold Fact 1970
Mike Theodore	...	Self - Co-Producer, Cold Fact 1970
Dan DiMaggio	...	Self - Bartender, The Brewery
Jerome Ferretti	...	Self - Bricklayer
Steve Rowland	...	Self - Producer, Coming from Reality 1971
Willem Möller	...	Self - Musician
Craig Bartholomew Strydom	...	Self - Music Journalist (as Craig Bartholomew-Strydom)
Ilse Assmann	...	Self - Former Apartheid Archivist
Steve M. Harris	...	Self - Teal Trutone
Robbie Mann	...	Self - RPM Records
Clarence Avant	...	Self - Former Chairman of Motown Records
Eva Rodriguez	...	Self - Rodriguez's Eldest Daughter
Rodriguez	...	Self (as Sixto Rodriguez)
Regan Rodriguez	...	Self - Rodriguez's Youngest Daughter

Storyline

In the early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations. Long rumored there to be dead by suicide, a few fans in the 1990s decided to seek out the truth of their hero's fate. What follows is a bizarrely heartening story in which they found far more in their quest than they ever hoped, while a Detroit construction laborer discovered that his lost artistic dreams came true after all.

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Plot Keywords:

songwriter | presumed dead | censorship | search | recording artist | 

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Taglines:

He was a star in the making, who vanished without a trace. But on the other side of the world, he inspired a generation.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Malik Bendjelloul traced all the illustrations on oven paper as a mock up for the 3D animations he never could afford to have made. Thus the oven paper illustrations made it to the final cut.

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Goofs

During the credits there is a spelling error - It says "Mabu Vinly" instead of "Mabu Vinyl"

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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. You come out with something that wasn't there before. Something beautiful. Something perhaps transcendent. Something perhaps eternal. Insofar as he does that, I think he's representative of the human spirit, of what's possible. ...

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Best Documentary Films of the Last Decade (2019)

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Soundtracks

Sit Dit Af
Written by Johannes Kerkorrel
Performed by The Gereformeerde Blues Band
Published by Shifty Music (ZA)
Sound Recording courtesy of Shifty Records

User Reviews

one of the best music docs ever made

This is one of the best music docs ever made! The story about Sixto Rodriguez misfortunes and fortunes is almost to good to be true. It's like a fairy tale, only that this is real life. Swedish film maker Malik Bendjelloul treats the story with great respect and construct the film in a way almost like a thriller without a dead second and the end will not leave a single eye dry. Cinematographer Camilla Skagerstrom made an excellent job in creating a beautiful movie and the music (all by Rodriguez)makes a great soundtrack and it is hard to believe that this musical treasure was forgotten for so many years. Not only is this a strong personal portrait of a grate musician but it also makes you wonder about the mechanics of fame, success and the music industry.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

Sweden UK Finland

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Searching for Sugar Man

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,459, 29 July 2012

Gross USA:

$3,696,196

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,133,712

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1