RIP Malik Bendjelloul
A few hours ago news broke that Malik Bendjelloul was found dead yesterday in the Stockholm area. He was only 36. Malik Bendjelloul is known for his award winning documentary (including Oscars and BAFTA) Searching for Sugarman which almost never got completed.
...the documentary was almost abandoned mid-production, when Bendjelloul ran out of funds. He persevered and pieced the film together over five years, even shooting some sequences on an iPhone.
"It was an extremely primitive production," he said. "It was done on my kitchen table in my apartment in Stockholm without any money at all."
He was determined to complete the project, he added, because "it is the best story I have ever heard in my life, and I think I ever will hear". The film went on to make $3.6m (£2.7m) at the US box office. (via BBC)
He will forever be known for Searching for Sugarman, but whilst reading about him after hearing the sad news, I found out he made some music documentaries for Swedish TV in the early 2000s, inlcuding one about Kraftwerk and Bjork.
I found the full episode of the Kraftwerk documentary and half of the episode featuring Bjork. You could hear Bendjelloul's voice in them, both documentaries are insightful and have an air of ease to them, making you feel like you're part of the conversation. I'd like to invite you to watch the following videos and think of a talent that has gone to soon.
RIP Malik Bendjelloul, 1977-2014.
Episode featuring Kraftwerk
Episode featuring Bjork