It is truly an inspiring movie of how two Cape Town, South African individuals (a record shop owner and a journalist) who both happened to love the haunting guitar songs of an unknown American musician Sixto Rodriguez go on a hunt for information about him. There had been a myth that Rodriguez had committed suicide while on stage, after only producing two record albums, “Cold Fact” in 1970 and “Coming From Reality” in 1971. Rodriguez had been wildly popular back then in South Africa, but his poetic music had not caught on anywhere else including Detroit, Michigan where he had been singing in bars as a young man.

The documentary is interspersed with songs by Rodriguez, and is basically the story of how the two fans found him years later via the internet and one of his 3 daughters, and how they brought him to South Africa in March, 1998 where he is considered a super star. He performed there in six sold-out concerts before thousands of fans. But back in Detroit he lives alone and is not a rich man, doing construction/renovation/demolition work.

What is amazing and heartfelt about this movie is the love of the white South Africans for this mysterious Hispanic male singer, considering their history of apartheid, which was abolished officially in 1990. And despite the sudden fame, Rodriguez remained humble and unassuming.

If you don’t know of Rodriguez (I didn’t) this is an inspiring, unusual movie considering the distance and cultural differences between impoverished Detroit, Michigan and Cape Town, South Africa.

Find out on Feb. 24 if this film wins the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. I’ve also seen two other films in that category, “The Invisible War” (about rape/sexual assault in the U.S. military) and “Five Broken Cameras” (about the Israeli border wall on the West Bank, and non violent Palestinian demonstrations against it over a 5 year period).

UPDATE: Save the date for April 19, as Rodriguez is coming to the AVA Amphitheater due to popular demand (no longer at the Rialto Theater, which was too small for the large # of fans):
http://www.rialtotheatre.com/news/archives/2013/02/rodriguez_at_av.html

UPDATE 2/24/13: “Searching for Sugar Man” wins Best Documentary Feature Oscar at 2013 Academy Awards. See this movie, still playing at the Crossroads Festival movie theater, though only once a day right now.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Starts Friday, January 25 at the Loft Theater, 3233 E. Speedway. Show times are 11:45 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. in their new stadium theater #3.

2013 Academy Award Nominee! Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay

See one of the year’s best films again on the big screen before this year’s Oscar telecast on February 24th!

“Sometime miraculous films come into being, made by people you’ve never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius. Beasts of the Southern Wild is one of the year’s best films.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy (the extraordinary Quvenzhané Wallis, making her film debut) exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions. This imaginative, fantastical and visually striking drama, the debut feature film from director/co-writer Benh Zeitlin, has been nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay. (Dir. by Benh Zeitlin, 2012, 93 mins., Rated PG-13, Fox Searchlight) Digital

I’m happy that this movie is returning to the Loft, as I saw the preview several times, but somehow missed its showing. And it’s hard to believe that the main actress young Quvenzhane is making her debut in this movie (and she’s already being nominated for Best Actress).