Searching for Sugar Man

Ever heard of the American singer-songwriter Rodriguez? The chance that you answered in the affirmative is close to zero. Unless, that is, you were in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, where Rodriguez was a huge celebrity. His socially critical songs brought the progressive classes in contact with anti-establishment sentiments for the first time, and his music provided the soundtrack for a protest generation. Although he sold an estimated 500,000 records in this nation isolated by boycotts, Rodriguez himself remained a mystery. The story goes that during one concert in the United States, he actually set himself on fire. Although he is now regarded as one of the greatest talents of his generation, he ended his musical career as a forgotten artist, without the faintest idea of his popularity in a very different part of world. Twenty-five years later, a record dealer and a music journalist decided to unravel the mysteries surrounding this tragic hero. The reconstruction of this quest has all the ingredients of a thrilling detective story, and it takes the viewer from one astonishing revelation to another. But more than anything else, is a poignant film about hope and the inspirational power of music.