Searching for Sugar Man

Synopsis & Film Details

The internationally acclaimed documentary won the Special Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The film tells one of the music world’s most extraordinary stories: An obscure 1970 debut LP by a working-class, Mexican-American musician from Detroit becomes a source of inspiration to the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa. The singer/songwriter, known as Rodriguez, was momentarily hailed as the finest recording artist of his generation, fusing psychedelic rock, gritty funk, and political folk poetry. His producers, who had worked with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, believed Rodriguez to be the Chicano Bob Dylan — but greater. When his album flopped in the U.S., the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of an onstage suicide. Unbeknownst to Rodriguez, a bootleg recording of the album found its way into South Africa and, over the next two decades, became a phenomenon for its anti-establishment lyrics and style. Two South African fans set out to find out what really happened to their hero.

Sponsored by: Arte Américas