Project Detail

Searching For Sugar Man

Name: Searching For Sugar Man
Director: Malik Bendjelloul
Genre: Music, Dance
Released: 2012
Duration: 85 mins

Searching for Sugar Man

Synopsis

A musician is discovered In a Detroit bar in the late 60s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics. They record an album which they believe is going to secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. In fact, the album bombs and the singer disappears into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording finds its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, it becomes a phenomenon. Two South African fans then set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story more extraordinary than any of the existing myths about the artist known as Sixto Rodriguez. This is a film about hope, inspiration and the power of music.

Details

Year: 2012
Type of project: Features
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Malik Bendjelloul 1st Feature
Producer: Simon Chinn
Co-Producer: Nicole Stott, George Chignell
Executive Producer: John Battsek
Editor: Jinx Godfrey
Screenwriter: Malik Bendjelloul
Director of Photography: Camilla Skagerström
Composer: Sixto Rodriguez

Genre

Music Dance

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Red Box Films

33-34 Rathbone Place
London
W1T 1JN
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7323 9933

info@redboxfilms.co.uk

Sales Company

Protagonist Pictures

Waverley House
7-12 Noel Street
London
W1F 8GQ
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 9000

info@protagonistpictures.com

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

An in-depth study of David Lean, the man and his films. David Lean was one of the greatest filmmakers. He redefined what films could be, but his singular vision and tenacious determination to film the impossible earned him a reputation as an obsessive maverick. He was a master of his craft, capable of creating love and beauty on screen, but whose personal life was often troubled, uprooted, and painful. Featuring interviews with contemporary filmmakers including Wes Anderson, Paul Greengrass, Alfonso Cuarón, Celine Song, Brady Corbet, Francis Ford Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, Nia DaCosta, and Joe Wright. Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2026 - Cannes Classics - World premiere

Biography

We, The Hated

Director: Rich Felgate

Year: 2026

Told through the lives and motivations of those on the frontline, WE, THE HATED turns its camera on the people behind one of the most polarising protest movements in recent memory. What emerges goes deeper than placards and road blocks: these are individuals who have weighed up the personal consequences of action against the existential stakes of inaction. With fossil fuels driving both the climate crisis and global conflict, and governments increasingly cracking down on dissent, the film raises urgent questions about protest, power and what democracy actually means in practice. Director Rich Felgate, who is in a relationship with Just Stop Oil's founder, brings an insider closeness to the story whilst retaining enough balance to speak to audiences well beyond the already converted. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2026 - World premiere

Life Support

Director: Daniele Rugo