Searching for Sugar Man (2011) Tribeca 2012

Rodriguez and Malik Bendjelloul

Hi everybody! My name is Chocko and tonight I am reporting from the red carpet event for the New York Premiere of SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN.  In a nutshell, the movie is about a Mexican-American folk singer from the 70's named Rodriguez (pictured above) who was adored by critics, but was a flop commercially.  He eventually disappeared into obscurity, unknowingly becoming a HUGE star in South Africa where his antiestablishment songs struck a chord with the masses.  Decades later, his story is finally being told.  I was able to speak briefly with the director of the film, Malik Bendjelloul.

What attracted you to making the film SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN?

Why did I make it?  Because it was the best story I ever heard.

Tell us a little bit about your subject matter in the film.

It's about a man who didn't know he was famous.  It's about a man who made an album in the 70's,  failed and started working in construction.  He was really poor and not knowing at the very same time,  in South Africa he was more famous than the Rolling Stones.

What movies inspired you to become a filmmaker?

I wouldn't have done a film if it wasn't for this story.  The story needed to be told and I wasn't looking to make a film when I started.  I was looking for short stories for t.v. and then the research took a couple of years because that's what it takes.  This STORY made me a filmmaker.

What can we expect from you in the future?

I don't know, maybe a narrative drama, because it's hard to find a true story that's better than this one.  I don't know if I will ever find one. 

What message did you want to convey with the movie?

There's a lot of messages...the power of art.  If you make something, if you make a song you can change the world on the other side of the planet without even knowing.  When you make creative stuff, you create life that actually lives on their own and you can't do anything to stop that.  The power of art is the main message.