Searching for Sugar Man

I received an email out of the blue in March 2011 from a first time Swedish director called Malik Bendjelloul asking if I'd be interested to produce his film - a passion project he'd been toiling over, essentially on his own and with very little money, for four years. He said it was the best story he'd ever come across. Something about his email intrigued me and I agreed to meet him and a few days later he bounded into my office with his infectious, puppyish enthusiasm. I was amazed no one else seemed to want to support his irresistible project and I knew instinctively that I wanted to go on this adventure with him, wherever it took us. Who knew then that the film would end up winning an Oscar?

I feel incredibly fortunate that Malik Bendjelloul walked into my life when he did - and I find it unbelievable he is no longer here. Everyone who worked with Malik and considered him a friend is having difficulty reconciling the charming, generous, optimistic, kind soul we all remember with the news of his tragic and untimely death.  Searching for Sugar Man is the purest expression of the personality we all remember - it was made with more love, passion, energy and commitment - not to mention talent - than any other film I have been involved in. Even though he had so much more to give the world, it is still an extraordinary legacy to leave in such a short life.