Shocking news: Malik Bendjelloul, the director of Searching for Sugar Man, last year's Oscar-winning Best Documentary Feature, was found dead at his home in Stockholm, Sweden today. According to reports, the death was unexpected.
According to Swedish news site DN.Kulter, Bendjelloul's brother, Johar Bendjelloul, confirmed the news in a statement (this has been translated from Swedish): "I can confirm that my brother is dead. The family wants to be left alone in their grief."
Bendjelloul is considered one of the most successful Swedish filmmakers ever, and Searching for Sugar Man was his first film when it went on to earn a Best Documentary Feature award—as well as a BAFTA for Best Documentary. At the time of his death, Bendjelloul was working on a documentary following the life of Lawrence Anthony, the man who could allegedly communicate with elephants.
Bendjelloul was 36.
