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Cape Town – Musical documentary Searching for Sugar Man secured its position as the favourite to win an Oscar later this month after winning Best Documentary at the 2013 BAFTA Awards in London on Sunday night.
The documentary, which tells the story of a number of South African music fans who set out on a quest to find out what became of forgotten 70s US folk singer Rodriguez, was filmed primarily in Cape Town and has been nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar.
The film has also won at the National Board of Review, Producers and Directors Guild as well as the Sundance Film Festival - all of which are key indicators of Oscar success.
The film features interviews with South African fans Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Willem Möller and Robbie Mann whose efforts to find out what became of their musical hero Rodriguez endured through apartheid censorship, a severe lack of reliable information and wild rumours of the musician's mysterious fate.
Rodriguez SA tour
The documentary also tells of the popularity of Rodriguez's politically conscious songs in apartheid South Africa - just as his music fails to make any impact on the US market.
Searching for Sugar Man, a UK/Sweden co-production, won a BAFTA for Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul and producer Simon Chinn, already an Oscar winner in 2009 for the documentary Man in Wire.
Rodriguez was not in London for the BAFTAs as he is currently on tour in South Africa for nine sold out shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
The 85th annual Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on 24 February.
Watch the Searching for Sugar Man trailer here:
* Searching for Sugar Man is currently available on DVD. Buy it here.
The documentary, which tells the story of a number of South African music fans who set out on a quest to find out what became of forgotten 70s US folk singer Rodriguez, was filmed primarily in Cape Town and has been nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar.
The film has also won at the National Board of Review, Producers and Directors Guild as well as the Sundance Film Festival - all of which are key indicators of Oscar success.
The film features interviews with South African fans Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Willem Möller and Robbie Mann whose efforts to find out what became of their musical hero Rodriguez endured through apartheid censorship, a severe lack of reliable information and wild rumours of the musician's mysterious fate.
Rodriguez SA tour
The documentary also tells of the popularity of Rodriguez's politically conscious songs in apartheid South Africa - just as his music fails to make any impact on the US market.
Searching for Sugar Man, a UK/Sweden co-production, won a BAFTA for Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul and producer Simon Chinn, already an Oscar winner in 2009 for the documentary Man in Wire.
Rodriguez was not in London for the BAFTAs as he is currently on tour in South Africa for nine sold out shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
The 85th annual Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on 24 February.
Watch the Searching for Sugar Man trailer here:
* Searching for Sugar Man is currently available on DVD. Buy it here.
