Rodriguez is grateful his message found an audience.

"In the film it points out how it was banned from certain radio play and if they don't want you to listen to it and don't want you to talk about it, they really don't want you to think about it either," he says. "I think people need to express themselves."

"Searching For Sugar Man" includes scenes from the 1998 Cape Town concert which marked Rodriguez's first visit to South Africa.

Since then, he's been back several times. He's recording new music and is still commenting on social issues. The documentary won a special grand jury prize at the 2012 Sundance Festival.