

Searching for Sugar Man
Great Art Always Survives
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.
TMDB
7.9/10
1,079 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $1M
- Box office
- $3.7M
- Language
- English
- musician
- 1970s
- mayor
- south africa
- icon
- based on true story
- music business
- election
- detroit, michigan
- reading
- recording
- city council
Top billed cast











Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalPG-1327 Jul 2012
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical27 Jul 2012
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalM4 Oct 2012
CzechiaCZ
- Theatrical30 Jun 2012
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical1530 Jun 2012
FinlandFI
- Theatrical (limited)K-1630 Jun 2012
FranceFR
- Theatrical26 Dec 2012
GermanyDE
- Theatrical0Hamburg Film Festival5 Oct 2012
GreeceGR
- TheatricalΚ21 Nov 2013
- PhysicalDVD28 Feb 2014
IrelandIE
- Theatrical1227 Jul 2012
ItalyIT
- PremiereBiografilm Festival7 Jun 2013
- Theatrical (limited)10 Jun 2013
LithuaniaLT
- TheatricalN-1324 Jul 2015
Frequently asked questions
Searching for Sugar Man was released on 30 June 2012.
Audience reviews
5- A6/10
Andres Gomez
4/5/2014
An interesting story in a well driven story and high quality cut. However, it tries to be much more epic than what it actually is.
- C8/10
Cavalli
8/11/2019
An unlikely and interesting story that is part historical, part investigation and ultimately satisfying. The historical backdrop of South Africa's dictatorship years and of the lack of communication it had with the outside world are key in understanding why this strange story could happen in the first place.
- I10/10
Igbochild
7/6/2022
An endlessly fascinating and compelling story involving Rodriguez, a talented American singer-songwriter that should have been a household name, but instead quickly faded into obscurity. Long rumored to have died under tragic circumstances, his music develops a cult following among the Afrikaner youth. Rebelling against the oppressive and isolationist system of Apartheid, Rodriguez's music becomes a soundtrack for th…
- B10/10
badelf
9/10/2022
This is probably the most enjoyable documentary film I've ever seen. It's about a singer from the 70s whom I've never heard of (although I'm old enough) even though he's clearly a better poet and songwriter than Bob Dylan (yes, I said that and I'm a poet so there's my credentials). If you know anything about the record industry, and about the reality of discrimination in the United States, then it's easy to understan…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
3/14/2024
This is quite a curious documentary that at times made me wonder if the whole story was an hoax. It's all about Sixto Rodriguez who made a couple of albums in the early 1970s that had some critical acclaim but didn't track at all with the audience. Well not in the USA, they didn't. In South Africa it was rumoured that they shifted almost half a million copies before the singer was reputed to have set himself on fire …
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