From Anvil’s 2008 documentary to last year’s Phil Ochs film, the struggle of artists working within the label system of yesteryear has been getting due screen time of late. Now the story of Rodriguez — a ’70s folk musician born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez — will reach theaters thanks to director Malik Bendjelloul and legions of South African fans who kept his legacy alive, despite rumors he had long ago died. Not only is Rodriguez alive and well, however, but a pair of fans found him (through scouring song lyrics, no less) unaware of his fame outside the U.S. The result is Searching for Sugar Man, an inspiring new documentary about great art enduring the test of time. Check out the trailer above, while below is a clip pointing out how Rodriguez’s last-recorded song foreshadowed being dropped by his label in the 1970s.
