Searching for Sugar Man

{{Infobox film

| name = Searching for Sugar Man

| image = Searching-for-sugar-man--poster.jpg

| caption = US theatrical release poster

| director = Malik Bendjelloul

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Malik Bendjelloul
Simon Chinn

}}

| writer = Malik Bendjelloul

| starring = Sixto Rodriguez

| music = Rodriguez

| cinematography = Camilla Skagerström

| editing = Malik Bendjelloul

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

Red Box Film
Passion Pictures
Canfield Pictures
Sveriges Television
Yle Co-Production
Hysteria Film

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

NonStop Entertainment
{{small|(Sweden)}}
StudioCanal
{{small|(United Kingdom)}}

}}

| released = {{Film date|df=y|2012|01|19|Sundance|2012|07|26|United Kingdom|2012|08|24|Sweden|2013|02|22|Finland}}

| runtime = 86 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

Sweden
United Kingdom
Finland

}}

| language = English

| budget =

| gross = $9.1 million{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=searchingforsugarman.htm |title=Searching for Sugar Man |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=14 May 2014}}

}}

Searching for Sugar Man is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which had never achieved success in his home country of the United States, had become very popular in South Africa, although little was known about him there.

On 10 February 2013, the film won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in London[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/full-list-of-bafta-award-winners-8489089.html "Full list of Bafta award winners"],The Independent, 10 February 2013: Retrieved 26 February 2013. and two weeks later, it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood.[http://www.documentaryhive.com/the-2013-oscars-best-documentary-award/ "The 2013 Oscars Best Documentary Award"], Docomentaryhive.com, 25 February 2013.{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619035006/http://documentaryhive.com/the-2013-oscars-best-documentary-award/ |date=19 June 2013 }}. Retrieved 26 February 2013.{{Cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/85th-winners.html |title=The 85th Academy Awards (2013) Nominees and Winners |access-date=14 May 2014|work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|publisher=AMPAS}}

Production

While he initially used Super 8 film to record some stylised shots for the film, director Malik Bendjelloul ran out of money for more film to record the final few shots. After three years of cutting-room work, the main financial backers of the film threatened to withdraw funding to finish it.[http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2071&artikel=5861998 Sveriges Radio, Sommar i P1: Florent Chouvet; Summary in English: "You've only got three months"] Retrieved 14 May 2014 Bendjelloul resorted to filming the remaining stylised shots on his smartphone using an iPhone app called 8mm Vintage Camera.[https://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2013/02/19/t-iphone-app-oscar-film.cnnmoney/ $1.99 iPhone app saved Oscars film] CNN Money

Release

Searching for Sugar Man was the opening film at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012,[https://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/01/sundance-the-electrifying-search-for-sugar-man.html Vulture.com, 21 January 2012: Sundance: The Electrifying Search For Sugar Man]. Retrieved 26 February 2013 where it won the Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award for best international documentary. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 July 2012, and had a limited release (New York and Los Angeles) in the United States the following day.

The film performed well during its theatrical release, earning $3,696,196 at the US box office (81st of all US docs on Box Office Mojo).{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genre/sg2245914881/ |title=Searching for Sugar Man on Box Office Mojo |access-date=2023-08-10 |publisher=Box Office Mojo|language=en}}

Reception

=Critical response=

Searching for Sugar Man received widespread critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 95% approval rating based on reviews from 133 critics, with an average score of 8.0/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "A fascinating portrait of a forgotten musical pioneer, Searching for Sugar Man is by turns informative and mysterious."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/searching_for_sugar_man/ |title=Searching for Sugar Man (2012) |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=16 October 2018}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/searching-for-sugar-man |title=Searching for Sugar Man Reviews |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=16 October 2018}}

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a glowing four-star review, writing "I hope you're able to see this film...and yes, it exists because we need for it to."{{cite web | last =Ebert | first =Roger | title =Searching for Sugar Man | work =Chicago Sun-Times | date = 8 August 2012 | url =https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/searching-for-sugar-man-2012 | access-date =19 August 2012}} The New York Times critic Manohla Dargis also wrote a positive review, calling the film "a hugely appealing documentary about fans, faith and an enigmatic Age of Aquarius musician who burned bright and hopeful before disappearing."{{cite web | last =Dargis | first =Manohla | title =Searching for Sugar Man | work =The New York Times | date = 26 July 2012 | url =https://movies.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/movies/malik-bendjellouls-searching-for-sugar-man.html?partner=rss&emc=rss | access-date =19 August 2012}} Dargis subsequently named Searching for Sugar Man one of the 10 best films of 2012.{{cite news|last=Dargis|first=Manohla|title=Against the Odds, Smart Films Thrive at the Box Office|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/movies/manohla-dargiss-top-films-of-2012.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=14 December 2012|access-date=14 December 2012}}

==Criticism==

The film's narrative of a South African story about an American musician omits that Rodriguez was successful in Australia in the 1970s and toured there in 1979 and 1981.{{cite web|last=Watt|first=Andrew|title=International man of mystery|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/international-man-of-mystery-20130228-2f6vm.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=3 March 2013|date=28 February 2013}} Because of this omission, some critics have accused it of engaging in "myth-making".{{cite web|last=Stewart|first=Rebecca L|title=Searching For Sugar Man: myth-making at its best?|url=http://www.thevine.com.au/entertainment/movies/searching-for-sugar-man-myth-making-at-its-best|work=The Vine|access-date=12 February 2013}}{{cite web|last=Cody|first=Bill|title='Searching For Sugar Man' – True Story or the Making of a Myth?|url=http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/searching-for-sugar-man-true-story-or-the-making-of-a-myth/|work=Rope of Silicon|access-date=12 February 2013|date=21 January 2013}} However, the film focuses on Rodriguez's mysterious reputation in South Africa and the attempts of music historians there to track him down in the mid-1990s. South Africans were unaware of his Australian success due to the harsh censorship enacted by the apartheid regime,{{cite web|last=Davis|first=Sue|title=Music that impacted anti-apartheid struggle|url=http://www.workers.org/2012/10/08/music-that-impacted-anti-apartheid-struggle/|work=Workers World|access-date=10 June 2013|date=9 October 2012}} coupled with international sanctions that made any communication with the outside world on the subject of banned artists virtually impossible.{{cite news|last=Rohter|first=Larry|title=A Real-Life Fairy Tale, Long in the Making and Set to Old Tunes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/movies/a-film-spotlights-the-musician-rodriguez.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=10 June 2013|date=20 July 2012}}

=Awards and nominations=

Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary at the 85th Academy Awards.{{cite news|last=McCollum|first=Brian|title=Sixto Rodriguez rides the wave of 'Searching for Sugar Man' success|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20130110/ENT01/130110059/Sixto-Rodriguez-Seaching-for-Sugar-Man-Oscar-Academy-Awards|access-date=23 January 2013|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=10 January 2013}} Rodriguez declined to attend the awards ceremony, as he did not want to overshadow the filmmakers' achievement. Upon accepting the award, producer Simon Chinn remarked on this generosity, saying: "That just about says everything about that man and his story that you want to know."{{cite web|agency=Reuters|author=Sapa-AFP|title=Sugar Man takes Oscar|url=http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/sugar-man-takes-oscar-1.1476258|publisher=DailyNews|access-date=25 February 2013}} Malik Bendjelloul said on stage: "Thanks to one of the greatest singers ever, Rodriguez."{{cite news|last=Germain|first=David|title=Oscars 2013: 'Argo' Takes Home Best Picture at 85th Academy Awards|url=http://news.moviefone.com/2013/02/25/oscars-2013-argo-academy-awards_n_2756906.html?just_reloaded=1|access-date=25 February 2013|newspaper=Moviefone|date=25 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411093054/http://news.moviefone.com/2013/02/25/oscars-2013-argo-academy-awards_n_2756906.html?just_reloaded=1|archive-date=11 April 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}
The film won the award for Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards on 10 February 2013.
The Directors Guild of America awarded the film the DGA Award for Best Documentary on 2 February 2013.
The Writers Guild of America awarded the film the WGA Award for Best Documentary.
The Producers Guild of America awarded the film the PGA Award for Best Documentary.
The American Cinema Editors awarded the film the ACE Eddie Award for Best Documentary.
The film won the Guldbagge Award for Best Documentary at the 48th Guldbagge Awards.
The film won the National Board of Review award for Best Documentary on 5 December 2012.
The International Documentary Association (IDA) awarded Searching for Sugar Man Best Feature and Best Music at the 28th Annual IDA Documentary Awards on 7 December 2012 at the Directors Guild of America building, Los Angeles, California.{{cite web |url=http://www.documentary.org/awards2012 |title=IDA Documentary Awards 2012 | International Documentary Association |publisher=Documentary.org |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419150021/http://www.documentary.org/awards2012 |archive-date=19 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}
The film won Best Documentary at the Critics' Choice Awards.{{cite web|agency=Associated Press |url=https://news.yahoo.com/affleck-argo-win-big-critics-choice-awards-050828694.html |title=Affleck, Argo win big at Critics' Choice Awards |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=11 January 2013 |access-date=17 January 2013}}
Searching for Sugar Man won the Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best International Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. It also won audience awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival,{{cite magazine|last=Gallo |first=Phil |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/tv-film/rodriguez-doc-searching-for-sugar-man-wins-1007410952.story |title=Rodriguez Doc 'Searching for Sugar Man' Wins Audience Award at L.A. Film Fest |magazine=Billboard |date=25 June 2012 |access-date=2 August 2012}} the Durban International Film Festival,{{cite web|url=http://www.themovies.co.za/2012/07/30/durban-international-film-festival-all-the-winners |title=Durban International Film Festival: All the winners | Welcome to The Movies |publisher=Themovies.co.za |access-date=2 August 2012|date=30 July 2012 }} and the Melbourne Film Festival, and was 2nd-place winner of the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://russianfilm.biz/2012/06/34th-moscow-intl-film-festival-award-winners |title=34th Moscow Int'l Film Festival Award Winners | Filmmaking in Russia |publisher=Russianfilm.biz |date=30 June 2012 |access-date=2 August 2012}}
At the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, held in November 2012, Searching for Sugar Man won both the Audience and the Best Music Documentary awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.idfa.nl/industry/latest-news/First-Cousin-Once-Removed-wins-VPRO-IDFA-Award-for-Best-Feature-Length-Documentary.aspx |title=Winners of the IDFA 2012 Awards announced |publisher=International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |location=Amsterdam, Netherlands |access-date=26 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129050716/http://www.idfa.nl/industry/latest-news/First-Cousin-Once-Removed-wins-VPRO-IDFA-Award-for-Best-Feature-Length-Documentary.aspx |archive-date=29 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}
At the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), Searching for Sugar Man shared the "Best of the Fest" audience award with the Chinese feature film Full Circle and was awarded $50,000 (US).{{cite web|url=http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival |title=Doha Tribeca Film Festival |publisher=Doha Film Institute |access-date=17 January 2013}}
The film won Best Film (The Audience Award) at the Vilnius International Film Festival.
The film won Best Film at the In-Edit Festival in Santiago de Chile.
Searching for Sugar Man was nominated for five awards at the 6th Annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, tying with The Imposter for the most nominations. Winners were announced on 9 January 2013 at New York City's Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens:
Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking—Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
Production—Simon Chinn
Graphic Design and Animation—Oskar Gullstrand, Arvid Steen (won)
Debut Feature Film—Malik Bendjelloul
Audience Choice Prize—Malik Bendjelloul{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemaeyehonors.com/ |title=The 2013 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking |publisher=Cinemaeyehonors.com |access-date=17 January 2013}}
The film was the recipient of the Australian Film Critics Association award for Best Documentary of 2012,{{cite web|last=Krausz|first=Peter|title=AFCA Award Winners|url=http://www.afca.org.au/afca-2013-writing--film-award-winners.html|date=22 Feb 2013|publisher=AFCA|access-date=1 April 2013}} beating the locally-produced musical documentary All the Way Through Evening.{{cite web|title=AFCA 2012 Nominees|url=http://subcultureentertainment.com/tag/all-the-way-through-evening/|date=22 Feb 2012|publisher=Subculture Media|access-date=1 April 2013}}

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack is a compilation of songs from Rodriguez's two studio albums, as well as three tracks from his unfinished third album. It reached No. 3 in Sweden in early 2013 when the Academy Award nomination was announced, and had been in the charts for 26 weeks by the time it received the award in February 2013. In Denmark, the soundtrack reached No. 18, and in New Zealand it reached No. 24.

References

External links

{{Official website|http://sonyclassics.com/searchingforsugarman/}}
{{YouTube|id=j9rv1ApCKuU}}
{{IMDb title|2125608}}
{{rotten-tomatoes|id=searching_for_sugar_man}}
{{Metacritic film}}
{{mojo title|searchingforsugarman}}
{{Sfdb title}}
[http://mg.co.za/article/1998-02-20-fact-rodriguez-lives/ Article by Craig Bartholomew in Johannesburg's Mail & Guardian, 20 February 1998: Fact: Rodriguez lives]
{{YouTube|ONTH9DNiSI0|South African made For TV movie 'Looking For Jesus' based on original article written by Craig Bartholomew Strydom}}