Malik Bendjelloul found dead in Stockholm aged 36

Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul has died at the age of 36.

Malik Bendjelloul’s body was found late on Tuesday in the Stockholm area, police say. They could not confirm the cause of death but said no crime was suspected.

The director was best known for Searching for Sugar Man which won the Oscar and BAFTA prizes for best documentary in 2013.

The low-budget film told the story of two South Africans searching for their music hero, 1970s American singer Sixto Rodriguez.

Bootleg copies of the singer’s album Cold Fact had been an unofficial soundtrack to youth protests against apartheid in the 70s and 80s, but it was believed he had died in a bizarre onstage accident.

Sixto Rodriguez was eventually found in Detroit, working on a building site, and persuaded to play a series of triumphant gigs in South Africa, where he was treated like a hero.

Searching for Sugar Man went on to make $3.6 million at the US box office.

Malik Bendjelloul was born in the town of Ystad in southern Sweden, about 35 miles east of Malmo.