SA fans inspired Searching for Sugar Man Oscar win – producer

Malik Bendjelloul (left) and Simon Chinn, filmmakers of Searching for Sugar Man. Picture: Jonathan Alcorn /Reuters

It was exciting that South African fans were the inspiration behind the making of the Oscar-winning film Searching for Sugar Man, film producer Anant Singh has said.

“What’s really amazing is that this somewhat forgotten star is now back in the public eye, largely because of what he meant to his South African fans,” Singh said in a statement today.

Singh, who attended the 85th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles yesterday, was speaking after Searching for Sugar Man won the Oscar for the Best Documentary Feature.

“It is exciting that the inspiration for Searching for Sugar Man came from South Africa.”

He said it was sad that Rodriguez was a “sensation” in South Africa, but was oblivious to his fame.

Searching for Sugar Man is a story about Sixto Rodriguez, who made two albums in the early 1970s.

His music was popular in South Africa, but he was unaware of this.

In 2006, Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul travelled to South Africa, where he heard about the guitarist.

The film tells of two South Africans who go in search of the singer.

- Sapa