Malik Bendjelloul Dead: 'Searching For Sugarman' Director Dies At 36, Police Report

[okaawhatever]

Source: Huffington Post

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Malik Bendjelloul, the cash-strapped film maker who shot to Hollywood stardom overnight with the Oscar-winning music documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" about an obscure Mexican-American folk-rocker who became a cult hero in apartheid-era South Africa, has died. He was 36.

Swedish police spokeswoman Pia Glenvik told The Associated Press that Bendjelloul died in Stockholm late Tuesday, but wouldn't specify where his body was found or the cause of death.

She said no crime is suspected in relation to the filmmaker's death.

"Searching for Sugar Man," which tells the story of how singer-songwriterr Sixto Rodriguez became a superstar in South Africa without knowing about it, won the Oscar for best documentary in 2013. It was the first time a Swedish film had won an Oscar since Ingmar Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander" in 1984.

"Oh boy!" Bendjelloul exclaimed when he accepted the Oscar for best documentary feature from Ben Affleck last year and proceeded to thank "one of the best singers ever, Rodriguez."

Continued at Link:

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/malik-bendjelloul-dead_n_5319001.html

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. That is too bad. I just saw that documentary. It's quite a story.

His music went nowhere in the states and he went about his life as an activist in Detroit, but in South Africa, his record were part and parcel of a cultural awakening among South African whites in the anti-apartheid movement. He was like a combo Elvis/Bob Dylan to them, and he never knew it until some South African fans tracked him down years later. It's quite a story.

[trusty elf]

2. Wonderful film

I can recommend it.

Amazing story!

[lululu]

3. no royalties?

[Electric Monk]

4. His brother says it was a suicide

'Searching for Sugar Man' director Malik Bendjelloul, 36, committed suicide

STOCKHOLM - Malik Bendjelloul, director of the acclaimed "Searching for Sugar Man" documentary, was widely known for his enthusiasm, kindness and high spirits — so the news Wednesday that he had taken his own life shocked colleagues around the world.

Bendjelloul's brother Johar Bendjelloul told Swedish daily Aftonbladet that his 36-year-old younger brother committed suicide Tuesday after struggling with depression for a short period.

"Life is not always simple," Johar Bendjelloul was quoted as saying, adding that receiving the message that his brother had committed suicide was the worst thing he had ever experienced.

more...