SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Director Takes His Own Life at Age 36

The New York Post reports that Malik Bendjelloul, the Swedish director who helmed the award-winning documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" took his own life on Tuesday. Bendjelloul's brother, Johar Bendjelloul confirmed the news to The Associated Press, sharing that his 36-year-old sibling had struggled with depression for a short period.

"Life is not always simple," Johar Bendjelloul was quoted as saying. "I don't know how to handle it. I don't know,"

Police have not commented on the official cause of death but said they did not suspect foul play.

Searching for Sugar Man detailed the efforts of two Cape Town fans in the late 1990s, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true, and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which never took off in the United States, had become wildly popular in South Africa, but little was known about him there.

On 10 February 2013, the film won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in London, and two weeks later it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood.