Rodriguez who? In the ‘70s, an American-Mexican folk musician named Sixto Rodriguez cut two albums that didn’t go anywhere in the US (fact, he was dropped by his record label Sussex just weeks after his last one came out), but was huge in South Africa where he reportedly sold at least half a million albums. The Oscar-winning Searching for Sugar Man is an investigation into the myth that is Rodriguez, who according to urban legend, set himself on fire after a failed concert.

For those who are unfamiliar with the musician (we suspect that’s going to be a lot of you), Searching for Sugar Man will prove to be intriguing as writer-director Malik Bendjelloul takes his time unfolding the mystery behind the elusive singer who has absolutely no clue about his musical impact in South Africa, living a modest life as a construction worker in Detroit. The story to his greatness goes: a bootleg copy from Rodriguez made it to South Africa where it caught on. Someone (we’re not sure who) made copies and sold hundreds of thousands of them, and soon, Rodriguez was bigger than Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. So in March 1998, it was announced that Rodriguez had been “found” and was staging a series of concerts in South Africa.

The documentary may not be original, but it certainly is heart-tugging. Innuendos of rags-to-riches aside (Rodriguez donated all his earnings from his South African concerts to families and friends), the film’s theme of sticking to your guns resonate even through the brief interviews with the soft-spoken, reclusive singer. And interspersed with some revealing ones, including a rare snippet with Sussex founder Clarence Avant in a state of agitation, and wonderful landscape scenes of Detroit (coupled with Rodriguez’s moving folk melodies), Searching for Sugar Man is finally found.