I 
was digging around for links toward a post on Brian Knappenberger‘s crowdsourced Aaron Swartz documentary, The Internet’s Own Boy, when I learned that Malik Bendjelloul, the documentary filmmaker who won an Oscar last year for Searching for Sugar Man, was also dead — like Aaron, a suicide.
I would guess that readers of this blog are more familiar with Aaron than with Malik, though the ratio is probably reversed for the rest of the world, or at least for the part of it that cares about movies.
Hardly a week goes by that I don’t urge, in the strongest way I can, that people see Searching for Sugar Man. I also urge people not to read up on it first. Better to just go see it. The story works best if you start knowing little or nothing about it.
Sugar Man is one of those rare things: a deep-hearted feel-good documentary. There is no tragedy to it, but rather an almost holy sense of transcendence. And just a great, great story. Please watch it. Note the artistry behind the titles, the transitions, the editing. And think on how Malik did most of those in his apartment.
I was interviewed by Brian for The Internet’s Own Boy, but I don’t know if what I said ended up in the movie or on the cutting room floor. I suspect the latter, because most of what I said pertained to Aaron’s genius rather than the narrative vector of the film. (A correct one, about Aaron being hounded to death by prosecutorial overreach.) And I don’t care either way. I trusted Brian to make a great movie, and it looks like he succeeded. It got a standing ovation at Sundance, and other reviews I’ve seen were all positive.
It is gratifying to see a number of my still photos of Aaron in the trailer, thanks to having been published under a Creative Commons license (attribution only) that encourages use. Creative Commons was co-created by Aaron when he was still a teenager.
What we lost with both men was their promise. When Aaron died, I wrote, “We haven’t just lost a good man, but the better world he was helping to make.” The same goes for Malik. Like Aaron, he was a sweet, brilliant and talented young man. The world is lessened by his absence, in ways we will never know.
Bonus linkage:
- ‘The Internet’s Own Boy’ Is a Powerful Homage to Aaron Swartz (mashable.com)
- The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz: Sundance Review (the hollywood reporter)
- Variety marks offerings at summer film series in Newport (boston.com)
- Malik Bendjelloul: Death of a filmmaker who told an extraordinary South African tale | Daily Maverick (sugarman.org)
- Searching for Sugar Man director Malik Bendjelloul dies aged 36 (theguardian.com)
- Director hopes Aaron Swartz film will lead to internet reforms, May 6, 2014 (information-machine.blogspot.com)
- Oscar-Winning Director Malik Bendjelloul Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy (sugarman.org)
- Cannes To Mourn Malik Bendjelloul With Special ‘Sugarman’ Screening | Variety (sugarman.org)
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