documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by
Malik Bendjelloul
Malik Bendjelloul (14 September 1977 – 13 May 2014) was a Swedish documentary filmmaker, journalist and former child actor.Rohter, Larry (20 July 2012)Retrieved 26 February 2013.Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician
Sixto Rodriguez
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (born July 10, 1942), known professionally as Rodriguez, is an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Afric ...
was true and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which had never achieved success in the United States, had become very popular in South Africa, although little was known about him in that country.
On 10 February 2013, the film won the
BAFTA Award for Best Documentary
This page lists the winners for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award, for each year.
History
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts an ...
at the
66th British Academy Film Awards
The 66th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 10 February 2013 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2012. The nominations were announced on 9 January 2013. P ...
in London and two weeks later, it won the
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
at the
85th Academy Awards
The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2012 in film, films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...
in Hollywood.
Production
Initially using
Super 8 film
Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format.
The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8& ...
to record stylised shots for the film, director
Malik Bendjelloul
Malik Bendjelloul (14 September 1977 – 13 May 2014) was a Swedish documentary filmmaker, journalist and former child actor.Rohter, Larry (20 July 2012)Retrieved 26 February 2013.iPhoneapp called 8mm Vintage Camera.
Release
''Searching for Sugar Man'' was the opening film at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
in January 2012, 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.
''Searching for Sugar Man'' performed well during its theatrical release, earning $3,696,196 at the US box office (47th of all US docs on
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon.
History
Brandon Gray began ...
).
Reception
Critical response
''Searching for Sugar Man'' has received widespread critical acclaim. The film holds a 95% rating on the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
with an average rating of 8/10, based on reviews from 133 critics. The site's critical consensus reads, "A fascinating portrait of a forgotten musical pioneer, ''Searching for Sugar Man'' is by turns informative and mysterious." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' 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." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' critic
Manohla Dargis
Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Career
Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
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." Dargis subsequently named ''Searching for Sugar Man'' one of the 10 best films of 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. Because of this omission some critics have called the documentary "myth-making". However, the film focuses on his 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 coupled with
international sanctions
International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect in ...
that made any communication with the outside world on the subject of banned artists virtually impossible.
Awards and nominations
* ''Searching for Sugar Man'' won the Best Documentary category at the
85th Academy Awards
The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2012 in film, films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...
. Rodriguez declined to attend the award ceremony as he did not want to overshadow the filmmakers' achievement if he came up on stage with them. Upon accepting his award, producer Simon Chinn remarked on such generosity, "That just about says everything about that man and his story that you want to know." However, Malik Bendjelloul also said on stage, "Thanks to one of the greatest singers ever, Rodriguez."
* The film also won the Best Documentary category at the
66th British Academy Film Awards
The 66th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 10 February 2013 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2012. The nominations were announced on 9 January 2013. P ...
on 10 February 2013.
* The
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
awarded the
DGA Award
The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards.
Categ ...
for best documentary on 2 February 2013.
* The
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Guil ...
awarded the
WGA Award WGA may refer to:
In arts and entertainment:
* Web Gallery of Art
* Writers Guild of Alberta
* Writers Guild of America, an American union
** Writers Guild of America, East
** Writers Guild of America, West
Other uses:
* Wagga Wagga Airport
...
for best documentary.
* The
Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...
awarded the
PGA Award
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...
for best documentary.
* The
American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
awarded the ACE Eddie Award for best documentary.
* It won the
Guldbagge Award
The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the nam ...
for Best Documentary at the
48th Guldbagge Awards
The 48th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Sweden, Swedish 2012 in film, films of 2012 and took place January 21, 2013, at Cirkus (Stockholm), Cirkus in Stockholm. During the ceremony, the jury pr ...
.
* It won The
National Board of Review
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
in New York on 5 December 2012.
* The
International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...
(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
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
building, Los Angeles, California.
* It also won Best Documentary during
Critics' Choice Awards
The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writ ...
– ''Searching for Sugar Man''
* ''Searching for Sugar Man'' won the Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award for best international documentary at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. The film also won the Audience Award at the
Los Angeles Film Festival
The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
, the Audience Award at the
Durban International Film Festival
The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa an ...
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
and the Grand Jury Prize at the
Moscow International Film Festival
The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...
.
* At the
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...
held in November 2012, ''Searching for Sugar Man'' won both the Audience and the Best Music Documentary awards.
*
Doha Tribeca Film Festival
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) was an annual five-day film festival that was organised from 2009 to 2012 to promote Arab and international films, and to develop a sustainable film industry in Qatar. One of Qatar's largest entertainment eve ...
(DTFF) ''Searching for Sugar Man'' was awarded $50,000 (US) where the film shared the "Best of the Fest" audience award with the Chinese feature film ''Full Circle''.
* Best Film (The Audience Award) at
Vilnius International Film Festival The Vilnius International Film Festival (VIFF) Kino pavasaris is a film festival held annually in March in Vilnius, Lithuania since 1995, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films and audience. It is one of the most anticipa ...
* Best Film—In-Edit Festival in Santiago de Chile
* The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking has nominated ''Searching for Sugar Man'' for five awards, tying with ''The Imposter'' for the most nominations. Winners of the 6th Annual Cinema Eye Honors will be announced on 9 January 2013 as Cinema Eye returns for a third year to New York City's Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.
** Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking—Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
** Production—Simon Chinn
** Graphic Design and Animation—Oskar Gullstrand, Arvid Steen
** Debut Feature Film—Malik Bendjelloul
** Audience Choice Prize—Malik Bendjelloul
The film was also the recipient of the
Australian Film Critics Association
The Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA), formerly Melbourne Film Critics’ Forum, is an Australian professional association
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional socie ...
award for Best Documentary of 2012, beating locally produced musical documentary '' All the Way Through Evening''.
Soundtrack
''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 soundtrack album from the documentary containing a compilation of songs by Rodriguez from his two studio albums. 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 it reached No. 18 and in New Zealand it reached No. 24.