Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
Director:
Malik Bendjelloul
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Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| 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 (as Craig Bartholomew-Strydom) |
|
|
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 | |
Edit
Plot Summary
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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. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
Plot Keywords:
songwriter | presumed dead | censorship | search | recording artist |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.Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some drug references | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
26 July 2012 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Searching for Sugar Man See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$27,459, 29 July 2012Gross USA:
$3,696,196Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$9,133,597Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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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. See more »Goofs
During the credits there is a spelling error - It says "Mabu Vinly" instead of "Mabu Vinyl" 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. 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. ...See more »
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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.