Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish Filmmaker Behind "Searching For Sugar Man", Dead At 36

Acclaimed Swedish film director Malik Bendjelloul has died at the age of 36. Bendjelloul was best known for his work on the Oscar-winning music documentary Searching for Sugar Man.

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Bendjelloul was described as laid back and unassuming. His started his career in media, working for Swedish broadcaster SVT, but later left to go traveling. He got the idea for Searching for Sugar Man — his first feature film — during one of his trips, but it would take him more than four years to complete the film.

His death has left the Swedish film community in shock.

Swedish film critic Hynek Pallas, who traveled with Bendjelloul to Hollywood when he received the Oscar, described him as a modest, but very determined man.

More: Searching for Sugar Man Director Found Dead In Stockholm

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“He was an incredibly talented storyteller,” Pallas told the AP. “He had the strength of a marathon runner; to work on his film for so many years and sometimes without money, then you have a goal.”