Searching For Sugar Man has been described as ‘life affirming’, ‘uplifting and unforgettable’, ‘extraordinarily moving’ and quite simply ‘the greatest documentary ever made’. But not that we want to hype it up at all…
Produced by the two-time Academy-Award winning Simon Chin, Searching For Sugar Man tells the astonishing story of how two South African music fans set out on a mission to discover exactly how American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez died, and how, in the process, they actually managed to unearth a whole lot more.
In 1968, Rodriguez (as he became known) was discovered performing his songs in a Detroit bar. Producers Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey who between them had worked with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and Rare Earth signed him to Sussex Records where big things were expected of him.
Gaining justified comparisons with Bob Dylan, Rodriguez recorded two albums for Sussex Records. Bewilderingly, neither album managed to capture the public’s imagination and eventually Rodriguez was dropped from Sussex Records, drifting further and further into obscurity.
Unbeknown to Rodriguez or his producers, a bootleg copy of his first album, Cold Fact, found its way into apartheid-controlled South Africa where it became a phenomenon within the anti-apartheid movement.
One quote from the film states, “in the mid-seventies (In South Africa) if you walked into a white, liberal, middle class household and you flipped through the records, you would always see Abbey Road by The Beatles, Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel and Cold Fact by Rodriguez. To us it was one of the most famous albums of all-time.”
Very little was known in South Africa about Rodriguez and he assumed the status of a mythical figure.
Various stories regarding him grew over time including tales that he had burned to death onstage one night.
Other stories, including one published by Cape Town based newspaper Cape News, reported that Rodriguez had shot himself in the head during a gig in America.
As the two Rodriguez fans (Stephen Segerman and Craig Bartholomew) followed a trail of information leading them to the truth behind the singer-songwriters legend, they made one astounding discovery that would eventually turn the story of Rodriguez completely on its head.
In 2012, Searching For Sugar Man won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
It will be screened at Gorilla, Whitworth Street West, Manchester on Friday August 30.
Image courtesy of Studio Canal via YouTube, with thanks.
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