Searching for Sugar Man director Malik Bendjelloul is dead at 36

(Image credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul was found dead in Stockholm on Tuesday. Bendjelloul, 36, made just one film in his short career, but that one documentary — Searching for Sugar Man, about mysterious, obscure (outside of South Africa)1970s American folk-rocker Sixto Rodriguez — won him an Oscar in 2013 for best documentary, along with numerous other awards. Police didn't give a cause of death, but said they don't suspect foul play.

Bendjelloul, also a child actor in a Swedish TV show, will mostly be remembered for Sugar Man, a self-financed, largely DIY project that took four years to complete. That's quite a legacy for a life cut too short. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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