In the middle of August this year, three legends of the music industry died within 72 hours of each other: founder of A&m Records Jerry Moss; music lawyer Abe Somer; and my father, the “Black Godfather” himself, Clarence Avant. These three men helped define the recording industry of the past six decades, and what’s more, they were inseparable best friends.
Somer, Moss, and Avant met in New York City in the early 1960s, and in the six decades since, never left one another’s side, never once let their “soul contract” expire.
Somer, Moss, and Avant met in New York City in the early 1960s, and in the six decades since, never left one another’s side, never once let their “soul contract” expire.
- 10/28/2023
- by Nicole Avant
- Rollingstone.com
Welcome to the world of documentaries, where real lives and real stories come to life on the screen. There’s something profoundly moving about witnessing the human experience captured through the lens of a camera – the raw emotions, the untold struggles, and the amazing moments that shape our lives. As a documentary enthusiast who believes in the power of storytelling, I’m excited to share with you a curated list of seven documentaries that offer a deep dive into the complexities of our existence.
Related: 10 Must-Watch Documentaries That Changed Public Perception
These documentaries are more than just films; they’re windows into the lives of individuals who have experienced the spectrum of human emotions and challenges. From the comfort of your couch, you’ll have the privilege of walking in their shoes, experiencing their journeys, and gaining insights that might just change your perspective on the world.
Each documentary on...
Related: 10 Must-Watch Documentaries That Changed Public Perception
These documentaries are more than just films; they’re windows into the lives of individuals who have experienced the spectrum of human emotions and challenges. From the comfort of your couch, you’ll have the privilege of walking in their shoes, experiencing their journeys, and gaining insights that might just change your perspective on the world.
Each documentary on...
- 10/25/2023
- by Pia Vermaak
- buddytv.com
There’s been a lot of jealous talk about nepotism in the film world lately, but who would really want to come into the movie world as a, what, fourth-generation Huston? There are likely swords already being sharpened for Jack Huston, the handsome, charming, 40-year-old nephew of Anjelica, grandson of John and great-grandson of Walter. But his directing debut, Day of the Fight, which premiered this week in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons Extra section, is certainly worthy of the family name. It’s a little earnest, sometimes a bit too style-conscious, and Huston is inclined to put performance before story every time. But the emotional input really earns its payoff in a confident, imaginatively mounted calling card.
For many, Huston is off to a flying start with the casting of Michael Pitt, a terrific actor rescued from a life of Dawson’s Creek himbo-dom by Larry Clark in his...
For many, Huston is off to a flying start with the casting of Michael Pitt, a terrific actor rescued from a life of Dawson’s Creek himbo-dom by Larry Clark in his...
- 9/8/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Clarence Avant, the music executive and film producer who was known unofficially as “The Godfather” of Black entertainment, died on Sunday in his Los Angeles home. He was 92.
“It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant,” a statement from his children, Nicole and Alexander, as well as his son-in-law Ted Sarandos read. “Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘the Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics and sports. Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come. The joy of his legacy eases the sorrow of our loss.”
Avant began his music industry career in the 1950s as a manager of Teddy P’s Lounge in Newark, New Jersey. He would later go on...
“It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant,” a statement from his children, Nicole and Alexander, as well as his son-in-law Ted Sarandos read. “Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘the Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics and sports. Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come. The joy of his legacy eases the sorrow of our loss.”
Avant began his music industry career in the 1950s as a manager of Teddy P’s Lounge in Newark, New Jersey. He would later go on...
- 8/14/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
Clarence Avant, who was dubbed the “Godfather of Black Music,” died Sunday in Los Angeles, his family has confirmed. He was 92.
A statement provided by his family including son-in-law Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-ceo, announced Avant’s passing “with a heavy heart,” and said he had “passed away gently.”
“Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘the Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics, and sports,” the statement said. “Top artists and executives like Quincy Jones, JayZ, Whitney Houston, Pharrell Williams, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Sean Combs, L.A. Reid, Suzanne de Passe, Kenny ‘Baby Face’ Edmonds, Jon Platt, Irving Azoff, Snoop Dogg Reginald Hudland, Benny Medina and Queen Latifah all credit Avant for his inspiration and guidance.”
The news comes almost two years after the shooting death of his wife, Jackie Avant, during a break-in at the family’s Beverly Hills home...
A statement provided by his family including son-in-law Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-ceo, announced Avant’s passing “with a heavy heart,” and said he had “passed away gently.”
“Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘the Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics, and sports,” the statement said. “Top artists and executives like Quincy Jones, JayZ, Whitney Houston, Pharrell Williams, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Sean Combs, L.A. Reid, Suzanne de Passe, Kenny ‘Baby Face’ Edmonds, Jon Platt, Irving Azoff, Snoop Dogg Reginald Hudland, Benny Medina and Queen Latifah all credit Avant for his inspiration and guidance.”
The news comes almost two years after the shooting death of his wife, Jackie Avant, during a break-in at the family’s Beverly Hills home...
- 8/14/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Sixto Rodriguez, the Detroit musician who found surprise success in South Africa and became the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has died at the age of 81.
The news was announced in a statement from his official website, which reads, “It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters — Sandra, Eva and Regan — and to all his family.”
Though Rodriguez’s cause of death is unknown, The Detroit News reports he had been in declining health.
Born July 10th, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan as the sixth child of a Mexican father and Native American mother, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez began his music career in 1967 under the name Rod Riguez. Three years later, he signed with Sussex Records and began recording under the name Rodriguez. Following two albums, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality,...
The news was announced in a statement from his official website, which reads, “It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters — Sandra, Eva and Regan — and to all his family.”
Though Rodriguez’s cause of death is unknown, The Detroit News reports he had been in declining health.
Born July 10th, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan as the sixth child of a Mexican father and Native American mother, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez began his music career in 1967 under the name Rod Riguez. Three years later, he signed with Sussex Records and began recording under the name Rodriguez. Following two albums, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Sixto Rodriguez, the Mexican-American singer-songwriter who languished in obscurity for decades before his brilliant music was rediscovered and chronicled in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, died on Tuesday. He was 81.
Rodriguez’s death was announced Wednesday on his official website. “It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today,” the statement read. No cause of death was provided, but Rodriguez reportedly dealt with health issues in recent years.
Rodriguez only released two studio albums: 1970’s Cold Fact and 1971’s Coming From Reality.
Rodriguez’s death was announced Wednesday on his official website. “It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today,” the statement read. No cause of death was provided, but Rodriguez reportedly dealt with health issues in recent years.
Rodriguez only released two studio albums: 1970’s Cold Fact and 1971’s Coming From Reality.
- 8/9/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Playing at Film Forum starting today, Friday, November 20th, for six days is John Huston’s newly restored 1972 film Fat City, starring Stacy Keach and Jeff Bridges. In the film Keach plays Billy Tully, a down and out former boxer who returns to the ring in an attempt to escape his days spent picking fruit for a living and nights spent drunk in dingy skid row bars.
For those in New York City, Friday’s 7:00pm showing will be followed by an onstage interview with Leonard Gardner, author and screenwriter of Fat City. Monday’s 7:00pm showing will be followed by a live Q&A via Skype with Stacy Keach. I had the opportunity to speak with Keach via phone from Los Angeles. Check out our conversation below.
The Film Stage: When was the last time you saw the film in full?
Stacy Keach: I guess it’s been about ten years.
For those in New York City, Friday’s 7:00pm showing will be followed by an onstage interview with Leonard Gardner, author and screenwriter of Fat City. Monday’s 7:00pm showing will be followed by a live Q&A via Skype with Stacy Keach. I had the opportunity to speak with Keach via phone from Los Angeles. Check out our conversation below.
The Film Stage: When was the last time you saw the film in full?
Stacy Keach: I guess it’s been about ten years.
- 11/20/2015
- by James Knight
- The Film Stage
On what should have been the biggest night of his life, the 70-year old singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez was, once again, nowhere to be found. Searching for Sugar Man, the blockbuster 2012 documentary that finally, miraculously introduced his music to the world, was about to win the Oscar for Best Documentary. But Rodriguez hadn’t just skipped the ceremony at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre. He was back home in Detroit, sleeping. “I missed the program,” Rodriguez says “We just came in the day before from South Africa. My daughter Sandra called toto tell me.
- 4/11/2013
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Sixto Rodriguez Academy 1, Manchester UK December 2, 2012
Cool, like water, is difficult to grasp, and like truth, is even more awkward to explain. If an example of this conundrum were needed, then it could be located in the guise of Sixto Rodriguez, who by virtue of existing exemplifies the quality in question. At the age of three score and ten, he has become an unusual media darling. with appearances on the Letterman Show in the U.S. and Later with Jools Holland in the U.K., and is selling out venues (three nights in London, to mention but a few) and has gone from being a re-issue oddity to a current artist, -- without, it has to be said, much calculation on his own behalf. He is also the subject of a major documentary, Looking for Sugar Man, which embroiders his delicious myth into a rock 'n' roll fable. He remained steadfast,...
Cool, like water, is difficult to grasp, and like truth, is even more awkward to explain. If an example of this conundrum were needed, then it could be located in the guise of Sixto Rodriguez, who by virtue of existing exemplifies the quality in question. At the age of three score and ten, he has become an unusual media darling. with appearances on the Letterman Show in the U.S. and Later with Jools Holland in the U.K., and is selling out venues (three nights in London, to mention but a few) and has gone from being a re-issue oddity to a current artist, -- without, it has to be said, much calculation on his own behalf. He is also the subject of a major documentary, Looking for Sugar Man, which embroiders his delicious myth into a rock 'n' roll fable. He remained steadfast,...
- 12/3/2012
- by robert cochrane
- www.culturecatch.com
If you live in Detroit, chances are you've seen "Sugar Man," as the rest of the world now knows singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez. You've heard him play a set at Park Bar or the Old Miami, watched him tip back a cup of coffee or a pint at Motor City Brewing Works.
The Southwest Detroit musician, whose music made him a superstar in South Africa while he unknowingly lived a blue-collar existence in the Motor City, is the subject of a new documentary, "Searching For Sugar Man."
"60 Minutes" also aired a long interview with Rodriguez (featuring shots of him all over the city!) and journalist Bob Simon. Now, partner site 60minutesovertime.com is airing outtakes of the singer's live musical sessions with the camera crew. Producer Michael Gavshon grew up in South Africa, where he remembers Rodriguez' songs being "the anthem to a generation."
The bonus footage is shot at...
The Southwest Detroit musician, whose music made him a superstar in South Africa while he unknowingly lived a blue-collar existence in the Motor City, is the subject of a new documentary, "Searching For Sugar Man."
"60 Minutes" also aired a long interview with Rodriguez (featuring shots of him all over the city!) and journalist Bob Simon. Now, partner site 60minutesovertime.com is airing outtakes of the singer's live musical sessions with the camera crew. Producer Michael Gavshon grew up in South Africa, where he remembers Rodriguez' songs being "the anthem to a generation."
The bonus footage is shot at...
- 10/8/2012
- by 60 Minutes
- Huffington Post
Want to experience a documentary that will truly lift your spirits? Seems that real crime and corruption dominate most of the theatrical doc landscape these days. That’s not to say that they aren’t enlightening and to a degree entertaining ( like The Imposter and The Queen Of Versailles ), but this flick could really compete for that tired tagline, ” The feel good film of the year”. Searching For Sugarman is about following your dreams and not giving in when doors are slammed in your face. And it’s a glorious saga that explores how life can deliver one heckuva’ second act, cause’ it ain’t over til the husky lady sings…or the long-haired fella’ wearing the dark shades strums an encore.
This is the story of early 1970′s recording artist Rodriguez. Sixto Rodriguez to be exact. Consider yourself a music buff, but the name doesn’t ring a bell?...
This is the story of early 1970′s recording artist Rodriguez. Sixto Rodriguez to be exact. Consider yourself a music buff, but the name doesn’t ring a bell?...
- 9/26/2012
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The hero of Searching for Sugar Man made his return to the New York stage this weekend. Joy was unconfined
It's a few minutes before 8pm. Outside the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea, in lower Manhattan, scores of people are queuing in a desperate hope they'll be able to get their hands on tickets for the gig taking place there tonight. Doors opened at 6, and the limited number of on-the-night tickets were snapped up instantly by those at the front of the queue. Two hours later, fans are still hanging around, asking, hoping for spares. That fervour is significant, as is the fact that Sixto Rodriguez, the headline act, has sold out the venue.
Forty-two years ago, when the Detroit-born musician released his debut album, Cold Fact, that wouldn't have happened. It probably wouldn't have occurred four months ago. But since the July release of Searching for Sugar Man, Swedish director...
It's a few minutes before 8pm. Outside the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea, in lower Manhattan, scores of people are queuing in a desperate hope they'll be able to get their hands on tickets for the gig taking place there tonight. Doors opened at 6, and the limited number of on-the-night tickets were snapped up instantly by those at the front of the queue. Two hours later, fans are still hanging around, asking, hoping for spares. That fervour is significant, as is the fact that Sixto Rodriguez, the headline act, has sold out the venue.
Forty-two years ago, when the Detroit-born musician released his debut album, Cold Fact, that wouldn't have happened. It probably wouldn't have occurred four months ago. But since the July release of Searching for Sugar Man, Swedish director...
- 9/3/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
"Sugar man you're the answer/That makes my questions disappear"
--Sixto Rodriguez
For two South Africans, the song lyrics they had heard for years, like the ones above, only prompted more questions. Who was this musician who wrote lyrics about a drug addict's love for his dealer? Were the rumors about his committing suicide onstage true, or was he still alive? Their curiosity led them on a years-long journey across continents, documented in the visually stunning albeit flawed film Searching for Sugar Man, which opens in Austin today.
Swedish director Malick Bendjelloul's Sundance award-winning documentary discusses Sixto Rodriguez's musical beginnings playing in dive bars in Detroit, where he was discovered (playing guitar and singing with his back turned to the audience) and subsequently signed to a two-album contract with Sussex and A&R Records.
read more...
--Sixto Rodriguez
For two South Africans, the song lyrics they had heard for years, like the ones above, only prompted more questions. Who was this musician who wrote lyrics about a drug addict's love for his dealer? Were the rumors about his committing suicide onstage true, or was he still alive? Their curiosity led them on a years-long journey across continents, documented in the visually stunning albeit flawed film Searching for Sugar Man, which opens in Austin today.
Swedish director Malick Bendjelloul's Sundance award-winning documentary discusses Sixto Rodriguez's musical beginnings playing in dive bars in Detroit, where he was discovered (playing guitar and singing with his back turned to the audience) and subsequently signed to a two-album contract with Sussex and A&R Records.
read more...
- 8/17/2012
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
Saturday night I shelled out cash to see Sundance hit "Searching for Sugar Man." Malik Bendjelloul's documentary tells the incredible story of musician Sixto Rodriguez, who crashed and burned with record sales in the States in his time (the early 1970s) but became an inspiration for South Africans fighting Apartheid throughout the decade and into the 1980s. Of course, the kicker is Rodriguez (his stage name) never knew about his worldwide success (he was also huge in Australia). Many fans had come to believe the myth -- different depending on who's telling the tale -- that he had killed himself on stage in some...
- 8/14/2012
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Searching for Sugar Man
Directed by: Malik Bendjelloul
Documentary
Running Time: 1 hr 26 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: August 10, 2012
Plot: A documentary about the mystery of Detroit songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who wrote two albums in the early 70s and then was rumored to have killed himself.
Who’S It For? You don’t have to know anything about the musical artist Rodriguez before seeing this documentary. But you will definitely be a fan of him after you leave.
Overall
Twenty minutes into Searching for Sugar Man, I thought I was watching a ruse. It had to be. How could I have never heard of this musician, if his two albums were reportedly so great? (And this is when the film had only shown me a couple songs). With comparisons to Bob Dylan being thrown around, I figured this “Rodriguez” guy was just a parody of Dylan, much like Ricky Fataar parodied...
Directed by: Malik Bendjelloul
Documentary
Running Time: 1 hr 26 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: August 10, 2012
Plot: A documentary about the mystery of Detroit songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who wrote two albums in the early 70s and then was rumored to have killed himself.
Who’S It For? You don’t have to know anything about the musical artist Rodriguez before seeing this documentary. But you will definitely be a fan of him after you leave.
Overall
Twenty minutes into Searching for Sugar Man, I thought I was watching a ruse. It had to be. How could I have never heard of this musician, if his two albums were reportedly so great? (And this is when the film had only shown me a couple songs). With comparisons to Bob Dylan being thrown around, I figured this “Rodriguez” guy was just a parody of Dylan, much like Ricky Fataar parodied...
- 8/11/2012
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Anyone who has seen the trailer for Searching For Sugar Man knows that the title character has indeed been found (but there’s much more to his unbelievable life story than that). If you’d prefer to keep Sugar Man a mystery until after you see the film, please bookmark this interview to refer back to after you’ve had your own discovery of this man’s unbelievable story.
In our age of instant music sharing, it seems like any artist can get recognition with a hip enough music video or high amount of followers on Twitter. Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul, is a documentary about Sixto Rodriguez, a great talent from the early 70s (think poppier Bob Dylan) who slipped through the cracks of notoriety (at least in America). It is the story of a man’s disappearance, as well as it is his unbelievable return.
In our age of instant music sharing, it seems like any artist can get recognition with a hip enough music video or high amount of followers on Twitter. Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul, is a documentary about Sixto Rodriguez, a great talent from the early 70s (think poppier Bob Dylan) who slipped through the cracks of notoriety (at least in America). It is the story of a man’s disappearance, as well as it is his unbelievable return.
- 8/10/2012
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Title: Searching for Sugar Man Director: Malik Bendjelloul Winner of jury and audience prizes at both the Sundance and Los Angeles Film Festivals, Malik Bendjelloul’s “Searching for Sugar Man” is an unexpectedly fresh nonfiction tale that rustles up deep feelings of a life stolen. Part docu-mystery, part uplifting valentine about the universality and resonating power of music, the movie tells the story of Sixto Rodriguez, an enigmatic, Detroit-based singer-songwriter who in the early 1970s released two soulful but commercially irrelevant albums under his surname, and quickly disappeared into complete oblivion, only to find unlikely reception and fame in a completely different context, half a world away. In 1968, two music producers went to a smoke-filled [ Read More ]...
- 7/31/2012
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
It may fiddle with the facts, but this documentary on the hunt for a long-lost 70s music legend offers a brilliant insight into the nature of fame
It's one thing to discover a new talent, quite another to rediscover an old talent. The two experiences offer different satisfactions. The former involves the capacity to recognise and create fashion. The latter offers the pleasures of defying changing fashions, of restoring and confirming old hopes, beliefs and enthusiasms, of seeing justice done and traditions confirmed. One thinks of Bill Russell in the 1940s tracking down the New Orleans jazz men Bunk Johnson and George Lewis working in Louisiana cane fields, getting their instruments out of hock and recording new versions of their work. Of the novelists Jean Rhys in England and Henry Roth in the Us, whom many thought dead, being found in rural retreats and brought back into print. There is...
It's one thing to discover a new talent, quite another to rediscover an old talent. The two experiences offer different satisfactions. The former involves the capacity to recognise and create fashion. The latter offers the pleasures of defying changing fashions, of restoring and confirming old hopes, beliefs and enthusiasms, of seeing justice done and traditions confirmed. One thinks of Bill Russell in the 1940s tracking down the New Orleans jazz men Bunk Johnson and George Lewis working in Louisiana cane fields, getting their instruments out of hock and recording new versions of their work. Of the novelists Jean Rhys in England and Henry Roth in the Us, whom many thought dead, being found in rural retreats and brought back into print. There is...
- 7/28/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Think about your favourite obscure pop star. And by "obscure", I don't mean semi-famous for a week, then forgotten; I mean, never discovered in the first place. As in: only sold six copies of their album, one of which your mum found in a car-boot sale in 1974. Now imagine an alternative universe in which that artist happened to become inconceivably huge: Stones big, Dylan big. Imagine that for a moment – and now Google the folk singer Sixto Rodriguez.
- 7/28/2012
- The Independent - Film
Dr Seuss' The Lorax (U)
(Chris Renauld, Kyle Balda, 2012, Us) Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms, Danny DeVito. 86 mins.
Dr Seuss's most environmentally minded story was a natural choice for movie treatment, but as with so many others (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Horton Hears A Who!), the temptation to "expand" on the original runs out of control. Seuss's elegant tale of a land where they paved paradise and cut down all the Truffula trees has been injected with all the compulsory gags, subplots, musical numbers and painfully bright landscapes that family animation is now deemed to require, making for an eco-tale that's packed with artificial additives.
Searching For Sugar Man (12A)
(Malik Bendjelloul, 2012, Swe/UK) 86 mins.
An inspiring documentary that successfully rehabilitates the reputation (and perhaps more) of Sixto Rodriguez, a 1970s Detroit troubadour who never found fame at home but unwittingly became huge in South Africa – where his...
(Chris Renauld, Kyle Balda, 2012, Us) Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms, Danny DeVito. 86 mins.
Dr Seuss's most environmentally minded story was a natural choice for movie treatment, but as with so many others (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Horton Hears A Who!), the temptation to "expand" on the original runs out of control. Seuss's elegant tale of a land where they paved paradise and cut down all the Truffula trees has been injected with all the compulsory gags, subplots, musical numbers and painfully bright landscapes that family animation is now deemed to require, making for an eco-tale that's packed with artificial additives.
Searching For Sugar Man (12A)
(Malik Bendjelloul, 2012, Swe/UK) 86 mins.
An inspiring documentary that successfully rehabilitates the reputation (and perhaps more) of Sixto Rodriguez, a 1970s Detroit troubadour who never found fame at home but unwittingly became huge in South Africa – where his...
- 7/27/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
A new documentary about lost Detroit musician Sixto Rodriguez – once touted as the new Dylan – opens an unexpected window on the secret history of white South Africa
Two moments from the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap will surely occur to you while watching this funny, sad, flawed documentary about a casualty of the 1970s Detroit music scene. The first is when Tap are devastated to hear from a local DJ that they reside in the "Where Are They Now?" file; the second is when they ecstatically discover that they are big in Japan.
In 1970, a Mexican-American singer-songwriter called Sixto Rodriguez released an album called Cold Fact, a collection of the poetic and socially engaged songs that he'd been singing around the bars and dives of Detroit, Michigan – songs like "Sugar Man", about drugs. I hadn't heard of him before this film; he's a stylish, mysterious figure in dark glasses,...
Two moments from the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap will surely occur to you while watching this funny, sad, flawed documentary about a casualty of the 1970s Detroit music scene. The first is when Tap are devastated to hear from a local DJ that they reside in the "Where Are They Now?" file; the second is when they ecstatically discover that they are big in Japan.
In 1970, a Mexican-American singer-songwriter called Sixto Rodriguez released an album called Cold Fact, a collection of the poetic and socially engaged songs that he'd been singing around the bars and dives of Detroit, Michigan – songs like "Sugar Man", about drugs. I hadn't heard of him before this film; he's a stylish, mysterious figure in dark glasses,...
- 7/27/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Sixto Rodriguez, in case you haven't heard of him, was a Detroit singer-songwriter, an "inner city poet," for whom great things were predicted in the early 1970s. Producers reckoned he was the equal of Bob Dylan. His first album, Cold Fact (1970), was supposed to be his breakthrough but failed to sell. His second, Coming from Reality (1971), didn't do any better. His record label dropped him. That's when his story became very strange indeed.
- 7/26/2012
- The Independent - Film
Sixto Rodriguez, the Detroit-born, Mexican folk singer who never quite made it in the States during the 1970s, is the humble star of Malik Bendjelloul's Searching for Sugar Man (2012). The film tells the incredible story of how a bootleg copy of Sixto's album Cold Fact arrived in apartheid South Africa and became a massive hit, selling thousands upon thousands of records and inspiring the voice of a generation. CineVue met Rodriguez and Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul to talk about fame, films and iPhone apps.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 7/26/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Anyone who comes out of watching the new documentary Searching for Sugar Man will probably have a lot of questions, but the main one on many minds will likely be, "How on earth did I go through life having never heard of Rodriguez?" Detroit migrant worker Sixto Rodriguez recorded and released two albums in the early '70s before settling back into obscurity, not realizing that a copy of his first record "Cold Fact" found its way to South Africa where it became a cult phenomenon, circulated through the musical community and becoming an inspiration for the white Afrikanische musicians protesting Apartheid throughout the '80s. Rodriguez's "Cold Fact" would end up selling over 500,000 records in South Africa without the artist realizing it, and decades...
- 7/25/2012
- Comingsoon.net
When Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul first came across the story of ’70s singer/songwriter/cult-hero Rodriguez, it must have seemed too good to be true, especially for a music-focused documentarian. Sixto Rodriguez, the Detroit-based troubadour who blended street-savvy folk, rock, and socially conscious soul on two under-the-radar early-‘70s albums, was completely unknown in America (and almost everywhere else) for decades. But in a twist worthy of an O. Henry story, Rodriguez (who has always worked solely under his surname), somehow ended up an iconic figure in South Africa, where his reputation assumed Bob Dylan-esque dimensions. The catch: most South Africans have long assumed he was dead, a rumored onstage suicide. And until recent years, Rodriguez remained unaware of – and uncompensated for – his popularity there, supporting himself and his children for years as a manual laborer in Detroit.
Bendjelloul — whose previous credits include a number of music documentaries for Swedish TV,...
Bendjelloul — whose previous credits include a number of music documentaries for Swedish TV,...
- 7/24/2012
- by Jim Allen
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It's not often that a musician comes back from the dead. In the early 1970s, the Detroit-based guitarist Sixto Rodriguez released two albums. They didn't sell in America and he was quietly dropped from his label. Yet unbeknown to Rodriguez or to his label, his debut album, Cold Fact, had become a platinum-selling hit in South Africa. Outlawed by the authorities and only played on pirate radio, his Dylan/Guthrie-esque folk sound was enthusiastically taken up by the anti-apartheid movement, which latched on to songs such as "I Wonder" and "Sugarman", turning them into anthems against the regime.
- 7/23/2012
- The Independent - Film
Music documentaries are a genre unto their own – sometimes they give you a glimpse behind the scenes of your favourite band, and sometimes they’re about someone you’ve never heeard about who become your favourite band.
Following great acclaim at Sundance and festivals around the world, Searching For Sugar Man comes to UK cinemas this month and definitely falls into the former category. You’ve probably never heard of Sixto Rodriguez – he was meant to be the new Bob Dylan, but he quickly disappeared back into obscurity. Yet not in South Africa – where he went on to be bigger Elvis. All this success went completely unknown to Rodriguez himself, and the film is the remarkable story of two South African fans trying to find out what happened to their hero.
To mark its release, here’s a rundown of the Top 10 Best Music Documentaries of all time:
Anvil! The...
Following great acclaim at Sundance and festivals around the world, Searching For Sugar Man comes to UK cinemas this month and definitely falls into the former category. You’ve probably never heard of Sixto Rodriguez – he was meant to be the new Bob Dylan, but he quickly disappeared back into obscurity. Yet not in South Africa – where he went on to be bigger Elvis. All this success went completely unknown to Rodriguez himself, and the film is the remarkable story of two South African fans trying to find out what happened to their hero.
To mark its release, here’s a rundown of the Top 10 Best Music Documentaries of all time:
Anvil! The...
- 7/21/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
The Dark Knight Rises (12A)
(Christopher Nolan, 2012, Us/UK) Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine. 164 mins
As big and dark and serious as The Avengers was big and light and fun, the climax to Nolan's Batman trilogy ticks most of the boxes it was demanded to – which is quite an achievement. There's an Occupy-style theme to baddy Bane's Gotham City lockdown, which forces Bruce Wayne to consider his 1% financial status and Batman to revive his punching and growling skills (prompted by Hathaway's slinky cat burglar). Some cheesy cliches (and questionable politics) are needed to tie it all together, but it's still the solid, epic finale you'd hoped for.
Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap (15)
(Ice-t, Andy Baybutt, 2012, UK/Us) 111 mins
The well-connected director calls on the biggest names in rap (Eminem, Q-Tip, Melle Mel, Snoop Dogg, etc), asks them a...
(Christopher Nolan, 2012, Us/UK) Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine. 164 mins
As big and dark and serious as The Avengers was big and light and fun, the climax to Nolan's Batman trilogy ticks most of the boxes it was demanded to – which is quite an achievement. There's an Occupy-style theme to baddy Bane's Gotham City lockdown, which forces Bruce Wayne to consider his 1% financial status and Batman to revive his punching and growling skills (prompted by Hathaway's slinky cat burglar). Some cheesy cliches (and questionable politics) are needed to tie it all together, but it's still the solid, epic finale you'd hoped for.
Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap (15)
(Ice-t, Andy Baybutt, 2012, UK/Us) 111 mins
The well-connected director calls on the biggest names in rap (Eminem, Q-Tip, Melle Mel, Snoop Dogg, etc), asks them a...
- 7/20/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
"Searching for Sugar Man" is the unbelievable story of Sixto Rodriguez, a Detroit singer-songwriter who was once projected to be bigger than the Beatles. If the name doesn't ring a bell, it's because Rodriguez was a massive flop -- in the States.
Through some twist of fate, however, his music found its way to South Africa, where it became the soundtrack of a generation in South Africa. There, he was simply a mysterious man whose songs were as widely recognized as those of the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
The film, which was met with a particularly warm reception at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, tracks Rodriguez' twin lives: an unknowable rock god abroad, an impoverished construction worker at home. It's a remarkable movie, because it inspires an overwhelming and unique sense of hope. And now, Legacy Recordings (Sony) is releasing the film's original soundtrack.
Featuring 14 tracks, including favorites...
Through some twist of fate, however, his music found its way to South Africa, where it became the soundtrack of a generation in South Africa. There, he was simply a mysterious man whose songs were as widely recognized as those of the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
The film, which was met with a particularly warm reception at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, tracks Rodriguez' twin lives: an unknowable rock god abroad, an impoverished construction worker at home. It's a remarkable movie, because it inspires an overwhelming and unique sense of hope. And now, Legacy Recordings (Sony) is releasing the film's original soundtrack.
Featuring 14 tracks, including favorites...
- 7/20/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
To celebrate the 27 July release of Malik Bendjelloul's award-winning music documentary Searching for Sugar Man (2012), we're giving you the chance to win a copy of the film's official CD soundtrack and a UK quad poster signed by director Bendjelloul and the great Sixto Rodriguez himself. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 7/20/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Catch up with the last seven days in the world of film
The big story
As anticipation mounted, it was last week's big story; now it's here it's this week's too; and more than likely it'll be next week's as the dust settles. The Dark Knight Rises is the third and last of Christopher Nolan's Batman films: whatever the verdict from our critics, the level of interest it's sparking is astonishing. Today – 19 July – we had a Beatles 64 moment: the five most popular stories on guardian.co.uk/film were Dkr related.
But fanaticism is one thing, abuse is another, as aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes has discovered. It was forced to ban a prankster's negative review, and then shut down the Dkr comments thread entirely.
Some of this might have been anticipated: perhaps what hasn't is the unlikely scent of political controversy surrounding the film. Our writer Catherine Shoard suggested...
The big story
As anticipation mounted, it was last week's big story; now it's here it's this week's too; and more than likely it'll be next week's as the dust settles. The Dark Knight Rises is the third and last of Christopher Nolan's Batman films: whatever the verdict from our critics, the level of interest it's sparking is astonishing. Today – 19 July – we had a Beatles 64 moment: the five most popular stories on guardian.co.uk/film were Dkr related.
But fanaticism is one thing, abuse is another, as aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes has discovered. It was forced to ban a prankster's negative review, and then shut down the Dkr comments thread entirely.
Some of this might have been anticipated: perhaps what hasn't is the unlikely scent of political controversy surrounding the film. Our writer Catherine Shoard suggested...
- 7/19/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Every year there seems to bring at least one music documentary that gets tagged "the new Buena Vista Social Club". But to borrow from The Three Amigos!, this year's Buena Vista Social Club could be the real Buena Vista Social Club. Sorta. The film is Searching For Sugar Man and we've got a new internet-fresh clip to share with you. brightcove.createExperiences(); Searching For Sugar Man's subject is a musician whose time seemed to have come and gone. Sixto Rodriguez, billed for a brief moment in the early '70s as a folk singer to rival to Bob Dylan, was rumoured to have committed suicide on stage at the end of a gig.Not happy to leave it there, Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul picked up the trail with some help from the musician's most fervent South African fans (including Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman in this clip) and ended up with...
- 7/16/2012
- EmpireOnline
Forty years after recording his first album, Sixto Rodriguez, 70, is on the cusp of international stardom
The first thing Sixto Rodriguez asks me to do when I sit down to interview him in a film distributor's office in London is to tell him all about myself. He's eager to know everything: who I am, where I'm from. ("Is that an Irish accent? Erin go bragh!") The Observer's photographer is also required to give a potted history of himself before Rodriguez submits to having his photo taken. He looks the epitome of the veteran rock star – black suit, black-rimmed glasses, black hair down to his shoulders – but he couldn't be more self-effacing or more generous with his attention. As for his own life and career, the subject of a riveting new documentary called Searching for Sugar Man: "Oh," he says, "it's just a typical rags-to-riches story. Better that way than riches-to-rags.
The first thing Sixto Rodriguez asks me to do when I sit down to interview him in a film distributor's office in London is to tell him all about myself. He's eager to know everything: who I am, where I'm from. ("Is that an Irish accent? Erin go bragh!") The Observer's photographer is also required to give a potted history of himself before Rodriguez submits to having his photo taken. He looks the epitome of the veteran rock star – black suit, black-rimmed glasses, black hair down to his shoulders – but he couldn't be more self-effacing or more generous with his attention. As for his own life and career, the subject of a riveting new documentary called Searching for Sugar Man: "Oh," he says, "it's just a typical rags-to-riches story. Better that way than riches-to-rags.
- 7/16/2012
- by Killian Fox
- The Guardian - Film News
Malik Bendjelloul's heartfelt tale about the Detroit folk musician was followed by an unexpected turn from the singer himself
The most famous folk singer you've never heard of, Sixto Rodriguez, flew in from Detroit last night to sing one song, Inner City Blues, at the La film festival screening of Searching for Sugar Man (which premiered in the UK last week at the Sheffield Doc/Fest).
The film follows two South Africans, who – believing Rodriguez dead – embark on a journey to find out what happened to the mysterious singer who provided the backdrop to the anti-apartheid movement, as well as the soundtrack to their youth.
For years, Rodriguez had no idea that – halfway across the world– he was bigger than Elvis. It's truly a crime that his poetic, soulful records sank without a trace, forcing him to turn his back on the music industry and scrape a living working in construction in Detroit.
The most famous folk singer you've never heard of, Sixto Rodriguez, flew in from Detroit last night to sing one song, Inner City Blues, at the La film festival screening of Searching for Sugar Man (which premiered in the UK last week at the Sheffield Doc/Fest).
The film follows two South Africans, who – believing Rodriguez dead – embark on a journey to find out what happened to the mysterious singer who provided the backdrop to the anti-apartheid movement, as well as the soundtrack to their youth.
For years, Rodriguez had no idea that – halfway across the world– he was bigger than Elvis. It's truly a crime that his poetic, soulful records sank without a trace, forcing him to turn his back on the music industry and scrape a living working in construction in Detroit.
- 6/20/2012
- by Lisa Marks
- The Guardian - Film News
Fantastic Films Weekend, Bradford
This horror and sci-fi festival would rather sift through the cultural debris for classic trash than scrabble for the latest offerings. There's a rare chance to see 1970's notorious rabid-hippy bloodbath I Drink Your Blood in its fullest grindhouse glory, for example, or neglected Dario Argento horror Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971). Still too highbrow? Then how about 80s heroines like Grace Jones's Vamp or Brigitte Nielsen's Red Sonja? And a Troma triple bill? How low can you go?
National Media Museum, Fri to 17 Jun
Anthony Burgess And Cinema, Manchester
It's the 50th anniversary of the publication of A Clockwork Orange, and this celebration of Burgess's great dystopian (Mancunian?) novel spreads the net a little wider than simply Stanley Kubrick's legendary movie. There's a fine "making of" documentary, and a one-hour intro to the film on 29 Jun, plus Andy Warhol's lesser known (and altogether lesser,...
This horror and sci-fi festival would rather sift through the cultural debris for classic trash than scrabble for the latest offerings. There's a rare chance to see 1970's notorious rabid-hippy bloodbath I Drink Your Blood in its fullest grindhouse glory, for example, or neglected Dario Argento horror Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971). Still too highbrow? Then how about 80s heroines like Grace Jones's Vamp or Brigitte Nielsen's Red Sonja? And a Troma triple bill? How low can you go?
National Media Museum, Fri to 17 Jun
Anthony Burgess And Cinema, Manchester
It's the 50th anniversary of the publication of A Clockwork Orange, and this celebration of Burgess's great dystopian (Mancunian?) novel spreads the net a little wider than simply Stanley Kubrick's legendary movie. There's a fine "making of" documentary, and a one-hour intro to the film on 29 Jun, plus Andy Warhol's lesser known (and altogether lesser,...
- 6/8/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
This year's Sheffield DocFest will open with rock doc Searching For Sugar Man, which seeks out the legendary Sixto Rodriguez and explores the mystery behind his rise and fall. The star himself will attend, heading up a long list of guests who seem set to make this an intriguing event for the public as well as an invaluable opportunity to network for industry professionals.
In just five days, DocFest will screen 120 films, as well as offering masterclasses, Q&As, an awards ceremony and more. There's a strong focus on home-grown British movies this year, especially when it comes to emerging talent, and a special sporting strand will tie in with the London Olympics. China will be the foreign country focus and of course there will be documentary input from all around the world.
In what seems said to be another year full of revolutionary spirit, there's a special strand celebrating protest documentaries.
In just five days, DocFest will screen 120 films, as well as offering masterclasses, Q&As, an awards ceremony and more. There's a strong focus on home-grown British movies this year, especially when it comes to emerging talent, and a special sporting strand will tie in with the London Olympics. China will be the foreign country focus and of course there will be documentary input from all around the world.
In what seems said to be another year full of revolutionary spirit, there's a special strand celebrating protest documentaries.
- 5/11/2012
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
This year's Sheffield DocFest will open with rock doc Searching For Sugar Man, which seeks out the legendary Sixto Rodriguez and explores the mystery behind his rise and fall. The star himself will attend, heading up a long list of guests who seem set to make this an intriguing event for the public as well as an invaluable opportunity to network for industry professionals.
In just five days, DocFest will screen 120 films, as well as offering masterclasses, Q&As, an awards ceremony and more. There's a strong focus on home-grown British movies this year, especially when it comes to emerging talent, and a special sporting strand will tie in with the London Olympics. China will be the foreign country focus and of course there will be documentary input from all around the world.
In what seems said to be another year full of revolutionary spirit, there's a special strand celebrating protest documentaries.
In just five days, DocFest will screen 120 films, as well as offering masterclasses, Q&As, an awards ceremony and more. There's a strong focus on home-grown British movies this year, especially when it comes to emerging talent, and a special sporting strand will tie in with the London Olympics. China will be the foreign country focus and of course there will be documentary input from all around the world.
In what seems said to be another year full of revolutionary spirit, there's a special strand celebrating protest documentaries.
- 5/11/2012
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
More from the Latino scene from our woman in L.A., free lance festival programmer extraordinaire, Christine Davila, from her blog Chicana from Chicago:
Looking at yesterday’s announcement of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival reveals a healthy Latino presence among the 62 features and 48 short films in the program. Here’s how I break down the Latino/ Ibero/ U.S. Latino component of the program.
Chile continues to give Argentina a run for its cache of exciting and growing cinematic output from South America with the inclusion of Thursday Til Sunday (Isa & Distributor: FiGa) written and directed by Dominga Sotomayor ♀, in Narrative Competition.
Although the traveling Mexican film festival Ambulante is no longer a program spotlight, Mexican films continue to be a mainstay of the festival. There are four feature-length films and three short films from/about Mexico. In Narrative Competition, The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man (Isa: Kafilms, Argentina) written and directed by Arturo Pons [about a young Mexican aiming for Chicago], and in Documentary Competition, Drought by Everado González (recently awarded Best Documentary at FICG27) . Out of competition is the gorgeously shot documentary, Canícula, and although the funding is mainly stateside, Bernardo Ruiz paints a fascinating portrait of the risky journalistic practice and history of the seminal Tijuana weekly, Zeta in Reportero.
Also of note in the program is that four short films list Cuba as a co-production/origin of country.
But what of the U.S. Latino filmmakers and stories? Last year Los Angeles Film Festival was a great launchpad for Mamitas (Distributor: ScreenMedia, Producer rep: Traction Media), an authentic Chicano portrayal of young love set in Echo Parque written and directed by Nicolas Ozeki (a non-Latino), co-starring fast rising hot talents Veronica Diaz-Carranzo (Blaze You Out) and E.J. Bonilla. The film is currently in theaters now. (Big recommend,theater listings here-go support it!)
The closest we have to representing U.S. Latino in the features section is Four, the feature debut of Joshua Sanchez who hails from Houston, Texas. Based on a Christopher Shinn play, the July 4th-eve-set story is a snapshot of two disparate relationships tensely intertwined and their at-odd dynamics of desire. Coincidentally, E.J. Bonilla also stars (this guy is blowing up!). I would also include as U.S. Latino, Searching for Sugar Man, the documentary by Malik Bendjelloul about singer songwriter Sixto Rodriguez’s fascinating rise and fall into obscurity as a Uj.S. Latino story. As a matter of fact, the film seems to suggest that perhaps Sixto’s Mexican-American identity might have been a reason he was not embraced by the 60s and 70s mainstream. [Per Sydney: The film was snatched up at Sundance by Sony Pictures Classics and by Isa Protagonist who is screening it twice in Cannes.]
As for U.S. Latino shorts, Fireworks written and directed by Victor Hugo Duran, which is also incidentally centered around 4th of July, is an L.A. set story about boys trying to rap on girls.
My favorite Miami based hooligans, Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva, keep representing with their fresh and experimental short film, Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke. They are part of a collective of go-there filmmakers, Borscht Corp who had four crazy shorts screen at SXSW (and they were a riot to bootie shake dance with at SXSW Film’s Closing Night Party). You must carve out an hour and look at their work on the site (Nsfw!)
And lastly, in front of camera there’s some America Ferrera in Todd Berger’s It’s a Disaster (Isa: Maya), and rising boriqua actress April Hernandez Castillo, of hit webseries East Willy B, Dexter and other TV, is in The History of Future Folk [Per Sydney: one of 7 horror films in the festival, another being It's A Disaster per Dread Central, so take note Latino distributors like Lionsgate because horror films are a favorite of a certain Latino demographic!] by J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, described as a “sweet sci-fi musical comedy”. Below is the rest of the Latino and Ibero-American (includes Spain and Portugal). Descriptions provided by L.A. Film Festival, and bold cap commentary by me.
Narrative Competition:
o All Is Well – Portugal (Director Pocas Pascoal ♀, Producer Luis Correia Cast Cheila Lima, Ciomara Morais) – Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. North American Premiere
o The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man – Mexico (Director/Writer Arturo Pons Producer Ozcar Ramírez González Cast Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez) – A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico. North American Premiere
o Four – (Director/Writer Joshua Sanchez Producer Christine Giorgio Cast Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, E.J. Bonilla) – Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. World Premiere
o Thursday till Sunday – Chile (Director/Writer Dominga Sotomayor ♀ Producers Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini) – With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. North American Premiere
Documentary Competition:
o Drought – Mexico (Director Everado González Producer Martha Orozco) – Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinema vertité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of extinction. Us Premiere
o Sun Kissed – (Directors Maya Stark ♀, Adi Lavy ♀ Producers Jocelyn Glatzer, Maya Stark, Adi Lavy) – With remarkable strength of spirit, a husband and wife examine their lives and why their children and others have been struck with a rare genetic disorder in this powerful portrait of a small Navajo community. World Premiere ~ Okay Not Latino But It'S Native American So I’M Giving It A Shout Since There Are Not Enough Native American Stories.
International Showcase:
o Canícula – Mexico (Director José Álvarez Writers Sebastián Hoffman, José Álvarez Producer Mauricio Fabre Cast Hermelinda Santes, Esteban González, Mario García) – This is a hauntingly beautiful portrait of the rituals and crafts of contemporary Indians in remote Veracruz, who teach their boys to fly. ~ See My Interview With Jose Here.
o The Last Elvis – Argentina (Director Armando Bo Writers Armando Bo, Nicolás Giacobone Producers Steve Golin, Hugo Sigman, Patricio Alvarez Casado, Victor Bo, Armando Bo Cast John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez) – John McInerny gives a staggering performance in this poignant tale of a Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who only comes alive when he dons the King’s clothes to perform. How can he reconcile his dreams of glory with his dead end factory job and an estranged wife and daughter who can’t live inside his fantasies?
o Neighboring Sounds – Brazil (Director/Writer Kleber Mendonça Filho Producer Emilie Lesclaux Cast Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn, Maeve Jinkings, W.J. Solha) – Kleber Mendonca Filho’s astonishing, suspenseful debut film focuses on one upscale street in the seaside town of Recife, where a private security team is enlisted to protect the residents from crime. By its startling conclusion, you feel you’ve seen all of Brazilian society exposed.
o The Strawberry Tree – Canada/Cuba/Italy (Director/Producer Simone Rapisarda Casanova) – Filmed in a small Cuban fishing village mere weeks before a hurricane decimated the entire region, this stunning documentary unknowingly captures the town’s final days even as it reframes the usual filmmaker-film subject relationship.
Summer Showcase:
o La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus – USA/Guatemala (Director Mark Kendall Producers Mark Kendall, Rafael González, Bernardo Ruiz) – The journey and transformation of a yellow American school bus into a vibrant Central American camionetasensitively reveals both the beauty and violence of everyday life in Guatemala.
o Reportero – (Director Bernardo Ruiz Producers Bernardo Ruiz, Patricia Benabe, Anne Hubbell Featuring Sergio Haro Cordero, Adela Navarro Bello) – A look at the incredible danger facing journalists in Mexico through the eyes of investigative reporter Sergio Haro and other staff at Zeta, the defiant Tijuana-based newsweekly.~ See My Interview With Bernardo Here
o Searching for Sugar Man – (Director/Writer Malik Bendjelloul Producers Simon Chinn, Nicole Stott, George Chignell) – Years after fading into obscurity at home, the music of ’70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend.
Beyond:
o Juan of the Dead – Cuba (Director/Writer Alejandro Brugués Producers Gervasio Iglesias, Inti Herrera Cast Alexis Días de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andrea Duro, Andros Perugorría, Jazz Vila, Eliecer Ramírez) – The streets of Havana are alive with the undead in Cuba’s first zombie comedy, a wild and bloody romp that sinks its sharp satirical teeth into the Cuban body politic. Castro may not be amused, but you will be.
Short Film Competition:
Against the Sea (Contra el mar) – Mexico, USA (Director) Richard Parkin
Black Doll (Prita Noire) – Mexico (Director) Sofia Carrillo
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke – (Directors) Jillian Mayer, Lucas Leyva ~Crazy Talented! Miami Represent!
Fireworks – (Director) Victor Hugo Duran -
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Paraíso – (Director) Nadav Kurtz ~Doc Subject Is About 3 Mexicans
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Voice Over – Spain (Director) Martín Rosete
For full lineup and more info go to L.A. Film Festival...
Looking at yesterday’s announcement of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival reveals a healthy Latino presence among the 62 features and 48 short films in the program. Here’s how I break down the Latino/ Ibero/ U.S. Latino component of the program.
Chile continues to give Argentina a run for its cache of exciting and growing cinematic output from South America with the inclusion of Thursday Til Sunday (Isa & Distributor: FiGa) written and directed by Dominga Sotomayor ♀, in Narrative Competition.
Although the traveling Mexican film festival Ambulante is no longer a program spotlight, Mexican films continue to be a mainstay of the festival. There are four feature-length films and three short films from/about Mexico. In Narrative Competition, The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man (Isa: Kafilms, Argentina) written and directed by Arturo Pons [about a young Mexican aiming for Chicago], and in Documentary Competition, Drought by Everado González (recently awarded Best Documentary at FICG27) . Out of competition is the gorgeously shot documentary, Canícula, and although the funding is mainly stateside, Bernardo Ruiz paints a fascinating portrait of the risky journalistic practice and history of the seminal Tijuana weekly, Zeta in Reportero.
Also of note in the program is that four short films list Cuba as a co-production/origin of country.
But what of the U.S. Latino filmmakers and stories? Last year Los Angeles Film Festival was a great launchpad for Mamitas (Distributor: ScreenMedia, Producer rep: Traction Media), an authentic Chicano portrayal of young love set in Echo Parque written and directed by Nicolas Ozeki (a non-Latino), co-starring fast rising hot talents Veronica Diaz-Carranzo (Blaze You Out) and E.J. Bonilla. The film is currently in theaters now. (Big recommend,theater listings here-go support it!)
The closest we have to representing U.S. Latino in the features section is Four, the feature debut of Joshua Sanchez who hails from Houston, Texas. Based on a Christopher Shinn play, the July 4th-eve-set story is a snapshot of two disparate relationships tensely intertwined and their at-odd dynamics of desire. Coincidentally, E.J. Bonilla also stars (this guy is blowing up!). I would also include as U.S. Latino, Searching for Sugar Man, the documentary by Malik Bendjelloul about singer songwriter Sixto Rodriguez’s fascinating rise and fall into obscurity as a Uj.S. Latino story. As a matter of fact, the film seems to suggest that perhaps Sixto’s Mexican-American identity might have been a reason he was not embraced by the 60s and 70s mainstream. [Per Sydney: The film was snatched up at Sundance by Sony Pictures Classics and by Isa Protagonist who is screening it twice in Cannes.]
As for U.S. Latino shorts, Fireworks written and directed by Victor Hugo Duran, which is also incidentally centered around 4th of July, is an L.A. set story about boys trying to rap on girls.
My favorite Miami based hooligans, Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva, keep representing with their fresh and experimental short film, Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke. They are part of a collective of go-there filmmakers, Borscht Corp who had four crazy shorts screen at SXSW (and they were a riot to bootie shake dance with at SXSW Film’s Closing Night Party). You must carve out an hour and look at their work on the site (Nsfw!)
And lastly, in front of camera there’s some America Ferrera in Todd Berger’s It’s a Disaster (Isa: Maya), and rising boriqua actress April Hernandez Castillo, of hit webseries East Willy B, Dexter and other TV, is in The History of Future Folk [Per Sydney: one of 7 horror films in the festival, another being It's A Disaster per Dread Central, so take note Latino distributors like Lionsgate because horror films are a favorite of a certain Latino demographic!] by J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, described as a “sweet sci-fi musical comedy”. Below is the rest of the Latino and Ibero-American (includes Spain and Portugal). Descriptions provided by L.A. Film Festival, and bold cap commentary by me.
Narrative Competition:
o All Is Well – Portugal (Director Pocas Pascoal ♀, Producer Luis Correia Cast Cheila Lima, Ciomara Morais) – Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. North American Premiere
o The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man – Mexico (Director/Writer Arturo Pons Producer Ozcar Ramírez González Cast Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez) – A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico. North American Premiere
o Four – (Director/Writer Joshua Sanchez Producer Christine Giorgio Cast Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, E.J. Bonilla) – Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. World Premiere
o Thursday till Sunday – Chile (Director/Writer Dominga Sotomayor ♀ Producers Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini) – With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. North American Premiere
Documentary Competition:
o Drought – Mexico (Director Everado González Producer Martha Orozco) – Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinema vertité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of extinction. Us Premiere
o Sun Kissed – (Directors Maya Stark ♀, Adi Lavy ♀ Producers Jocelyn Glatzer, Maya Stark, Adi Lavy) – With remarkable strength of spirit, a husband and wife examine their lives and why their children and others have been struck with a rare genetic disorder in this powerful portrait of a small Navajo community. World Premiere ~ Okay Not Latino But It'S Native American So I’M Giving It A Shout Since There Are Not Enough Native American Stories.
International Showcase:
o Canícula – Mexico (Director José Álvarez Writers Sebastián Hoffman, José Álvarez Producer Mauricio Fabre Cast Hermelinda Santes, Esteban González, Mario García) – This is a hauntingly beautiful portrait of the rituals and crafts of contemporary Indians in remote Veracruz, who teach their boys to fly. ~ See My Interview With Jose Here.
o The Last Elvis – Argentina (Director Armando Bo Writers Armando Bo, Nicolás Giacobone Producers Steve Golin, Hugo Sigman, Patricio Alvarez Casado, Victor Bo, Armando Bo Cast John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez) – John McInerny gives a staggering performance in this poignant tale of a Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who only comes alive when he dons the King’s clothes to perform. How can he reconcile his dreams of glory with his dead end factory job and an estranged wife and daughter who can’t live inside his fantasies?
o Neighboring Sounds – Brazil (Director/Writer Kleber Mendonça Filho Producer Emilie Lesclaux Cast Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn, Maeve Jinkings, W.J. Solha) – Kleber Mendonca Filho’s astonishing, suspenseful debut film focuses on one upscale street in the seaside town of Recife, where a private security team is enlisted to protect the residents from crime. By its startling conclusion, you feel you’ve seen all of Brazilian society exposed.
o The Strawberry Tree – Canada/Cuba/Italy (Director/Producer Simone Rapisarda Casanova) – Filmed in a small Cuban fishing village mere weeks before a hurricane decimated the entire region, this stunning documentary unknowingly captures the town’s final days even as it reframes the usual filmmaker-film subject relationship.
Summer Showcase:
o La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus – USA/Guatemala (Director Mark Kendall Producers Mark Kendall, Rafael González, Bernardo Ruiz) – The journey and transformation of a yellow American school bus into a vibrant Central American camionetasensitively reveals both the beauty and violence of everyday life in Guatemala.
o Reportero – (Director Bernardo Ruiz Producers Bernardo Ruiz, Patricia Benabe, Anne Hubbell Featuring Sergio Haro Cordero, Adela Navarro Bello) – A look at the incredible danger facing journalists in Mexico through the eyes of investigative reporter Sergio Haro and other staff at Zeta, the defiant Tijuana-based newsweekly.~ See My Interview With Bernardo Here
o Searching for Sugar Man – (Director/Writer Malik Bendjelloul Producers Simon Chinn, Nicole Stott, George Chignell) – Years after fading into obscurity at home, the music of ’70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend.
Beyond:
o Juan of the Dead – Cuba (Director/Writer Alejandro Brugués Producers Gervasio Iglesias, Inti Herrera Cast Alexis Días de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andrea Duro, Andros Perugorría, Jazz Vila, Eliecer Ramírez) – The streets of Havana are alive with the undead in Cuba’s first zombie comedy, a wild and bloody romp that sinks its sharp satirical teeth into the Cuban body politic. Castro may not be amused, but you will be.
Short Film Competition:
Against the Sea (Contra el mar) – Mexico, USA (Director) Richard Parkin
Black Doll (Prita Noire) – Mexico (Director) Sofia Carrillo
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke – (Directors) Jillian Mayer, Lucas Leyva ~Crazy Talented! Miami Represent!
Fireworks – (Director) Victor Hugo Duran -
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Paraíso – (Director) Nadav Kurtz ~Doc Subject Is About 3 Mexicans
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Voice Over – Spain (Director) Martín Rosete
For full lineup and more info go to L.A. Film Festival...
- 5/2/2012
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
I had never even heard of Sixto Rodriguez, the subject matter of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, let alone had interest in his music. Born in Detroit in 1942, the man who would become known simply as Rodriguez was a singer/songwriter some compared to Bob Dylan, not as mellow but with the same lyrical talents and a wicked handle on the guitar. Rodriguez never found fame in the United States. Two albums released through Sussex Records in the early ’70s hit brick walls with critics and audiences, and his name quickly plunged into obscurity. He never found his musician’s footing here, but you know who really loves Rodriguez? South Africa. That is the core of Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary, how one society’s rock and roll prince can be another society’s street sweeper. Rodriguez took local handyman jobs in Detroit while his albums blew up in Cape Town, one...
- 3/26/2012
- by Jeremy Kirk
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The BBC Storyville editor on his stint as a judge – and competitor – at Sundance film festival
20 January It's 10pm and after the endless flight and drive up the Rockies, it's good to finally arrive in Park City and get a whiff of night-time air. As film fests go, Sundance is, if not the biggest, certainly the best. I've attended before – to gawk at the celebrities and rich liberals as well as win the odd prize. This year, however, I'm in a somewhat anomalous position of great privilege; as editor of the BBC's Storyville, I have two films in the American competition. I am also judging films for the world documentary jury. Assailed by jet lag, I wonder how to negotiate this double role.
21 January There are lots of ways of celebrating one's birthday. This year I'm spending mine with Robert Redford - on a panel to discuss documentaries - and I am distinctly nervous.
20 January It's 10pm and after the endless flight and drive up the Rockies, it's good to finally arrive in Park City and get a whiff of night-time air. As film fests go, Sundance is, if not the biggest, certainly the best. I've attended before – to gawk at the celebrities and rich liberals as well as win the odd prize. This year, however, I'm in a somewhat anomalous position of great privilege; as editor of the BBC's Storyville, I have two films in the American competition. I am also judging films for the world documentary jury. Assailed by jet lag, I wonder how to negotiate this double role.
21 January There are lots of ways of celebrating one's birthday. This year I'm spending mine with Robert Redford - on a panel to discuss documentaries - and I am distinctly nervous.
- 2/5/2012
- by Nick Fraser
- The Guardian - Film News
Indiewire was on the scene at this year's Sundance Film Festival checking out this year's crop of new independent films. Here's all of our reviews from the festival. 'Searching for Sugar Man' When 1970s Mexican-American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez faded from view, he'd never had much visibility in the first place. Typically known only as "Rodriguez," the musician's gentle pop tunes and activist spirit came through in a handful of albums that were barely noticed in the U.S. However, "Searching for Sugar Man," documentarian Malik Bendjelloul's remarkable chronicle of Rodriguez's neglect on his home turf and unexpected stardom in South Africa, compellingly argues for his place in the canon of great American rock stars, whether or not he wants the spot. 'The House I Live In' "The war on drugs" has been a part of the national vernacular for so long that it seems old fashioned.
- 1/30/2012
- Indiewire
Two documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival turned their focus on American singer-songwriters making an impact on different eras of apartheid-stricken South Africa. But one major difference between the Paul Simon “Graceland” doc “Under African Skies” and Malik Bendjelloul's directorial debut “Searching for Sugar Man” are the artists’ awareness of their influence on that African country. Simon lived it. Obscure folk artist Rodriguez had no idea what the hell was going on. Sixto Rodriguez put out two albums under his last name in 1970 and 1971 via Sussex/A&M. They failed to sell here in the ‘States. Through several interviews with recording...
- 1/26/2012
- Hitfix
There is a longstanding debate in the non-fiction filmmaking community about the nature of documentary films; is the mission of the documentary to tell the truth and nothing but or do the requirements of cinematic storytelling allow for flexibility in the service of story? As a passionate viewer of non-fiction filmmaking, I have always drawn a line between cinema and reportage; on the one hand, reality must provide the underlying structure of documentary film, but unlike news gathering and reporting, films should have the license to manipulate things like chronology and the way in which information is presented in order to create a cinematic reality. Great documentary films put an entire arsenal of cinematic effects to use in order to tell a great story — sound, music, editing, cinematography — but nothing is more important than a strong point of view, a storytelling perspective that allows for the creation of art.
Creating...
Creating...
- 1/26/2012
- by Tom Hall
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Indiewire is on the scene at this year's Sundance Film Festival checking out this year's crop of new independent films. Here you can find all of our latest reviews from the first week of the festival. 'Searching for Sugar Man' Tracks the U.S. Rock Legend You've Never Heard Of When 1970s Mexican-American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez faded from view, he'd never had much visibility in the first place. Typically known only as "Rodriguez," the musician's gentle pop tunes and activist spirit came through in a handful of albums that were barely noticed in the U.S. However, "Searching for Sugar Man," documentarian Malik Bendjelloul's remarkable chronicle of Rodriguez's neglect on his home turf and unexpected stardom in South Africa, compellingly argues for his place in the canon of great American rock stars, whether or not he wants the spot. 'Queen of Versailles' Portrays the Deadly Combo of Ego,...
- 1/23/2012
- Indiewire
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Sundance's opening night world doc "Searching For Sugar Man." The directorial debut of Malik Bendjelloui, the film tells the incredible of Rodriguez, "the greatest '70s rock icon who never was." "When 1970s Mexican-American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez faded from view, he'd never had much visibility in the first place," Eric Kohn wrote in his Indiewire review. "Typically known only as "Rodriguez," the musician's gentle pop tunes and activist spirit came through in a handful of albums that were barely noticed in the U.S. However, "Searching for Sugar Man," documentarian Malik Bendjelloul's remarkable chronicle of Rodriguez's neglect on his home turf and unexpected stardom in South Africa, compellingly argues for his place in the canon of great American rock stars, whether or not he wants the spot." Josh Braun and David Koh at Submarine...
- 1/20/2012
- Indiewire
When 1970s Mexican-American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez faded from view, he'd never had much visibility in the first place. Typically known only as "Rodriguez," the musician's gentle pop tunes and activist spirit came through in a handful of albums that were barely noticed in the U.S. However, "Searching for Sugar Man," documentarian Malik Bendjelloul's remarkable chronicle of Rodriguez's neglect on his home turf and unexpected stardom in South Africa, compellingly argues for his place in the canon of great American rock stars, whether or not he wants the spot. Rodriguez's music gives the movie a masterful soundtrack and explains its purpose all at once. His lyrics grapple with the plight of the working man, but swap political rhetoric for personal yearning. "The sweetest kiss I ever got was the one I never tasted," he sang on his 1971 album "Cause," which flopped so badly that the record label quickly dropped.
- 1/20/2012
- Indiewire
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