Rodriguez

Filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul and singer/songwriter Rodriguez talk about the film “Searching for Sugar Man.” Despite critical praise, Rodriguez’s albums bombed in the U.S., and he faded into obscurity in this country, but when a bootleg copy of his album made its way to apartheid South Africa, it resonated with the youth protest movement there. Decades later, two intrepid fans decide to investigate whatever happened to the mysterious musician, and they uncover an unbelievable true story of success, obscurity, politics, and the power of music. "Searching for Sugar Man" opens July 27 at Angelika and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.

Few Americans have ever heard of Rodriguez, a protest rock musician who, after making two albums in the early '70s, quit the music business. Rodriguez returned to his native Detroit a...