Malik Bendjelloul (above), hailing from Sweden, had directed a body of short documentaries about well-known musicians: Björk, Sting, Elton John, Madonna.

But when he made the decision to direct his first feature, he chose a musician largely forgotten. Largely forgotten, that is, except by South Africans.

The Detroit rocker known simply as Rodriguez was a critical favorite in 1970, but Americans ignored his debut album.

His second album similarly was passed over in the United States. But when it was released in South Africa, the singer became a phenomenon, in part because his songs railed against The Man, a potent message in a land governed by apartheid policies.

South Africans searched for Rodriguez, but it was rumored that he had died shortly after his first two albums were released.

The search for Rodriguez became the subject of Bendjelloul’s film "Searching for Sugar Man," and he answered questions about why he, and others, were fascinated with the musician.

How did a first-time director-writer based in Stockholm come across the story of the American musician Rodriguez and his popularity in South Africa?

I was traveling around the world for six months looking for stories to do short docs about and in Cape Town I met with Stephen "Sugar" Segerman, who told me the story of Rodriguez. I was speechless. I knew I’d never heard a better story in my life. I had the feeling that if a story like this had been conceived by a screenwriter it wouldn’t have worked particularly well; it would had felt too unbelievable, a bit too much. But this was true. That was five years ago and I’ve been working on this film ever since.

What led you to decide to make a film about not only Rodriguez but the search for him?

That was one of the first things that attracted me to the story — those two South African fans who wanted to find the truth. The riddle of Rodriguez had been intriguing them for years and one day they set off on a quest to get to the bottom of the story. They needed to transform themselves into full-fledged detectives to try to unravel the mysteries, using the lyrics as a kind of cryptic puzzle to decipher what those poetic lines really meant.

What was your reaction when you learned that the film had been accepted at the Sundance Film Festival?

Sundance was my dream all those years. In fact, I was actually prepared to work on the film for one more year to re-submit for Sundance 2013 if it hadn’t been accepted this time.

What do you know about the Sundance Film Festival?

I have never been to Sundance before. I’ve never made a film before. I’ve just heard it’s cold, busy, full of crowded restaurants — and the best film festival in the world for documentaries.

What do you hope audience members realize after coming out of screenings?

I hope they realize that what they do creatively matters and that they should stay true to what they believe in. Rodriguez made those songs by his kitchen table on a simple guitar and literally changed the world on the other side of the planet. He never compromised. I think in the ‘70s the record industry people found him difficult to deal with and I’m sure people might have thought that his lack of American success was partly due to the fact that he was relentless in wanting to do his art in his own way. But in the end it’s the only way to do it. That was why those hundreds of thousands of South Africans loved his music so much — because the songs were uncompromised and therefore flawless. In the end the only art that really counts is art that keeps complete integrity.

Do you have any musical memories that resonate throughout your life?

Absolutely. I personally think that music is in many ways a higher art form than film. A film rarely gets better if you see it again; film is so much about surprise. But music is very different. You can listen to a song for the 81st time and it suddenly means more to you than it ever did before. There’s a South African fan site where people have written memories of Rodriguez. They’ve written stuff like, "We made love to your music and we made war to your music." They connect the major moments in their lives to him. That’s how it is for me as well. All the major things that have happened in my life have very strong musical memories connected to them. Music is an integral part of my inner being.

‘Searching for Sugar Man’ screenings
Thursday, Jan. 19, 9:30 p.m. » Library Center Theatre, Park City (waitlist only)
Friday, Jan. 20, 9 a.m. » Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City (waitlist only)
Friday, Jan. 20, 6 p.m. » Salt Lake Main Library, Salt Lake City (waitlist only)
Sunday, Jan. 22, 6:30 p.m. » Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden (available)
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 1 p.m. » Redstone Cinema 7, Park City (waitlist only)
Friday, Jan. 27, 3 p.m. » Temple Theatre, Park City (waitlist only)