Matadero Madrid center for contemporary creation
SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN
By Malik Bendjelloul
Start date
End date
Price
3.50€
Venue
Cineteca Madrid
Sala Azcona / Sala B
Institution
Towards the end of the 60s, a musician was discovered in a Detroit bar by two famous producers who were impressed by his moving melodies and his prophetic lyrics. They recorded an album that they believed would rank the artist among the great names of his generation. However, success never came around for him. In fact, the singer disappeared into the dark in the midst of rumors about his grisly suicide onstage. While the artist's mark was slowly vanishing, a bootleg recording made its way to apartheid South Africa and over the following two decades Rodríguez became a phenomenon.
Two South African fans are now determined to find out what really happened to their hero. Their research has led them to discover a most extraordinary story about the myth behind the artist known as "Rodríguez". This is a film about hope, inspiration, and the power of music. A documentary that took the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize and the World Cinema Audience Award for documentaries at the Sundance Festival, and which went on to win prizes around the world, in Moscow, Athens, Tribeca, Oslo, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Durban, Amsterdam…
Established in Stockholm, director Malik Bendjelloul has been directing documentaries for the last twelve years, primarily about musicians. In 2001, Bendjelloul directed the first documentary ever made about Kraftwerk, the German pioneers of electronic music. He has also made a number of documentaries about the history of heavy metal, as well as several documentaries on which he has collaborated with renowned artists such as Björk, Sting, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Mariah Carey, U2 and Kylie Minogue. LAst fall Bendjelloul directed the recording of a concert by Prince. Bendjelloul has also worked as a director and creative producer for the weekly cultural programme Kobra, on Swedish International Television, where he has created short documentaries covering a wide variety of topics. Among them, he's dealt with the First Ground Batallion, the division of the US Army that tried to show its soldiers to walk through walls, and a portrait of Alfred Merhan, a man who lived eighteen years in the Charles de Gaulle airport and who was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's The Terminal. Other subjects include the controversial story of the British music group The KLF, who burned 1 million pounds, and a film that explored the death rumors surrounding Paul McCartney. Bendjelloul has also designed and directed opening sequences for many well-known Swedish television programmes and directed music videos and commercials.
The film's director, Malik Bendjelloul, nominated this year for an Oscar for Searching for Sugarman, will be presenting the film and will have a discussion with the audience at the premiere, Thursday, February 14, at 8:30pm.
Two South African fans are now determined to find out what really happened to their hero. Their research has led them to discover a most extraordinary story about the myth behind the artist known as "Rodríguez". This is a film about hope, inspiration, and the power of music. A documentary that took the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize and the World Cinema Audience Award for documentaries at the Sundance Festival, and which went on to win prizes around the world, in Moscow, Athens, Tribeca, Oslo, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Durban, Amsterdam…
Established in Stockholm, director Malik Bendjelloul has been directing documentaries for the last twelve years, primarily about musicians. In 2001, Bendjelloul directed the first documentary ever made about Kraftwerk, the German pioneers of electronic music. He has also made a number of documentaries about the history of heavy metal, as well as several documentaries on which he has collaborated with renowned artists such as Björk, Sting, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Mariah Carey, U2 and Kylie Minogue. LAst fall Bendjelloul directed the recording of a concert by Prince. Bendjelloul has also worked as a director and creative producer for the weekly cultural programme Kobra, on Swedish International Television, where he has created short documentaries covering a wide variety of topics. Among them, he's dealt with the First Ground Batallion, the division of the US Army that tried to show its soldiers to walk through walls, and a portrait of Alfred Merhan, a man who lived eighteen years in the Charles de Gaulle airport and who was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's The Terminal. Other subjects include the controversial story of the British music group The KLF, who burned 1 million pounds, and a film that explored the death rumors surrounding Paul McCartney. Bendjelloul has also designed and directed opening sequences for many well-known Swedish television programmes and directed music videos and commercials.
The film's director, Malik Bendjelloul, nominated this year for an Oscar for Searching for Sugarman, will be presenting the film and will have a discussion with the audience at the premiere, Thursday, February 14, at 8:30pm.
Artistic team and specifications
- Director
- Malik Bendjelloul
- Duracion
- 85 min