Searching for Sugar Man

Searching for Sugar Man

Company type	Documentary film
Industry	Film
Founded	2012
Founder	Malik Bendjelloul
Products	Documentary film

Searching for Sugar Man is a 2012 documentary film crafted and directed by Malik Bendjelloul. It follows the late 1990s journey of two fans from Cape Town, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, as they investigate the rumored demise of American musician Sixto Rodriguez and seek to uncover the truth about his life. While Rodriguez's work did not achieve commercial success in the United States, it gained considerable acclaim in South Africa, where information about him was scarce.

On 10 February 2013, the documentary received the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards held in London. Shortly thereafter, it earned the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood.

Production

Director Malik Bendjelloul initially utilized Super 8 film to capture stylized sequences but encountered budget limitations that halted filming. After dedicating three years to editing, financial supporters threatened to pull their backing. To complete the project affordably, Bendjelloul resorted to shooting remaining scenes using an iPhone application named 8mm Vintage Camera.

Release

Searching for Sugar Man debuted as the opening feature at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012, where it earned both the Special Jury Prize and Audience Award for best international documentary. The UK release occurred on 26 July 2012, followed by a limited US screening beginning the next day in New York and Los Angeles.

The documentary grossed $3,696,196 domestically in the United States, placing it 81st among US documentaries according to Box Office Mojo statistics.

Critical response

The film was met with widespread critical praise. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 95% approval rating based on 133 reviews, with an average score of 8.0/10; critics describe it as "a captivating portrayal of a forgotten musical trailblazer." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 from 32 critics, signifying "generally favorable reviews."

Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert awarded it four stars, emphasizing its importance as essential viewing. The New York Times reviewer Manohla Dargis referred to it as "an immensely engaging documentary about devotion, belief, and an enigmatic artist," later listing it among her top ten films of 2012.

Criticism

Some detractors pointed out that the documentary excludes Rodriguez's achievements in Australia during the 1970s, including tours in 1979 and 1981, accusing it of perpetuating "myth-making." Nonetheless, the film concentrates on Rodriguez's enigmatic status within South Africa and music historians' efforts there during the mid-1990s to locate him. Due to apartheid-era censorship and international sanctions restricting information about banned performers, South African audiences were largely unaware of his Australian accomplishments.

Awards and nominations

• At the 85th Academy Awards, Searching for Sugar Man won Best Documentary Feature. Rodriguez chose not to attend to avoid overshadowing the filmmakers' recognition; producer Simon Chinn commended this gesture. Director Malik Bendjelloul publicly expressed his gratitude to Rodriguez during his acceptance speech.
• The documentary secured Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards.
• It received the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Documentary.
• The Writers Guild of America honored it with their Best Documentary award.
• The Producers Guild of America presented it with Best Documentary recognition.
• The American Cinema Editors granted it the ACE Eddie Award for Best Documentary.
• At the 48th Guldbagge Awards, it won Best Documentary via the Guldbagge Award.
• It was named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review.
• The International Documentary Association awarded it both Best Feature and Best Music at their 28th Annual Awards.
• It earned Best Documentary at the Critics' Choice Awards.
• Searching for Sugar Man garnered both the Special Jury Prize and Audience Award for Best International Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, along with audience awards at festivals including Los Angeles, Durban International, and Melbourne International Film Festivals. Additionally, it finished as runner-up for the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
• The film took home the Grand Jury Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.
• At the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, it secured both Audience Award and Best Music Documentary honors.
• During the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, it shared the "Best of the Fest" audience award and received a $50,000 (US) prize.
• It won Best Film (Audience Award) at the Vilnius International Film Festival as well as Best Film at Santiago de Chile’s In-Edit Festival.
• The documentary earned five nominations at the 6th Annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, winning Graphic Design and Animation. Additional nods included Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Production, Debut Feature Film, and Audience Choice Prize categories.
• The Australian Film Critics Association named it Best Documentary of 2012, outperforming local contender All the Way Through Evening.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film includes selections from Rodriguez's first two studio albums, along with three songs from his incomplete third album. Following the film's Academy Award nomination, the soundtrack climbed to No. 3 on the Swedish charts in early 2013 and sustained its presence there for 26 weeks by the time of the award ceremony in February. Additionally, it achieved chart positions of No. 18 in Denmark and No. 24 in New Zealand.

External links

• Article by Craig Bartholomew in Johannesburg's Mail & Guardian, 20 February 1998: Fact: Rodriguez lives