Malik Bendjelloul

Malik Bendjelloul (14 September 1977 – 13 May 2014) was a Swedish documentary filmmaker, journalist and actor. He directed the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award.

Early life Bendjelloul was born in Ystad in Sweden, east of Malmö, the son of Algerian-born physician Hacène Bendjelloul and Swedish translator and painter Veronica Schildt Bendjelloul. Bendjelloul grew up in central and southern Sweden (Ängelholm) and during the 1990s acted in the SVT TV series Ebba och Didrik as Philip Clavelle.

Career Bendjelloul started his television career as a reporter on Swedish public television (SVT), where he worked as a freelancer and journalist for Kobra. Prior to working for SVT, he also worked for an independent production company, Barracuda Film & TV. Subsequently, he left the job to direct documentaries on musicians including Elton John, Rod Stewart, Björk and Kraftwerk. Bendjelloul also won the 2013 BAFTA Award, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, American Cinema Editors, the Sundance audience and special jury accolades and the 2012 International Documentary Association awards. Eventually, the documentary achieved commercial success as well and made $3.6 million (£2.7 million) at the box office. The film documents the revival of Sixto Rodriguez's musical career.

Death At rush hour on 13 May 2014, Malik Bendjelloul died by suicide when he jumped in front of an oncoming train at the Solna centrum metro station in Stockholm after struggling with depression, as reported by his brother Johar. At the time of his death, he was working on a film project based on Lawrence Anthony's book The Elephant Whisperer.

Filmography Ebba och Didrik (1990) (actor) Searching for Sugar Man (2012) (director)