Searching for Sugar Man

Sixto Rodriguez made two albums in Detroit, sold nothing and went back to labouring on building sites. In the same years his records reached South Africa, where he became a symbol for anti-apartheid white youth and outsold Elvis. Rodriguez knew nothing about it. In South Africa a legend circulated that he had killed himself on stage. Two fans set out to find him. Malik Bendjelloul directed. The money ran out during production. Bendjelloul finished the remaining footage using a smartphone app, so part of an Oscar-winning documentary was shot on a phone. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. What followed is grim. Bendjelloul died in Stockholm in 2014 at the age of thirty-six; his brother said he had suffered from depression, and the death was recorded as suicide. Who it is for: viewers who like music documentaries and stories about vanished artists. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a complete portrait. The film leaves out details that would weaken the legend, such as Rodriguez's touring in Australia, and it was criticised for that.