( CNN ) -- Malik Bendjelloul , the acclaimed Swedish director who ran out of cash and finished shooting his Oscar-winning documentary `` Searching for Sugar Man '' with a smartphone app , died suddenly Tuesday in Stockholm , police said . He was 36 . No crime is suspected in the death of the filmmaker , who won the 2013 Academy Award for his debut feature about an obscure American crooner who gained fame abroad but remained virtually unknown at home , Stockholm Police Sgt . Janne Gyllstedt told CNN . Gyllstedt would not specify the cause of death and said he was unable to disclose any additional information . `` Searching for Sugar Man '' is the story of Sixto Rodriguez , a singer from Detroit who became a legend in South Africa . With lyrics such as `` The system 's gon na fall soon , to an angry young tune , '' Rodriguez unwittingly became the voice of the anti-Apartheid struggle in the 1970s , even as his records flopped in his own country . `` A man who lives his whole life in Detroit working as a construction worker , without knowing that , at the very same time , he 's more famous than Elvis Presley in another part of the world , '' Bendjelloul told CNN 's Poppy Harlow in 2012 . `` I thought it was the most beautiful story I 've ever heard in my life . '' `` Searching for Sugar Man '' producer Simon Chinn said in a statement : `` I felt so fortunate when Malik came into my life , with his charm , optimism and boundless energy and lack a guile , and now he is gone . It feels like a bright light has been snuffed out . '' He added , `` As a filmmaker he was an inspiration -- someone who , despite his relative inexperience , was driven by a passion and determination to do justice to the great story he had found and to prove those ( who ) had doubted he could do it , of which there were too many , wrong . How he proved them wrong ! I feel honoured to have gone on this journey with him , and I simply ca n't believe he is gone . '' Tom Bernard and Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics compared Bendjelloul to the subject of his debut feature . `` Much like Rodriguez himself , Malik was a genuine person who chased the world for stories to tell , '' they said in a joint statement . `` He did n't chase fame or fortune or awards , although those accolades still found him as many others recognized his storytelling . '' After running out of money for the film , Bendjelloul finished shooting the documentary using an iPhone app . `` I started shooting with a Super 8 camera which , in the end , was too expensive , '' he told CNN . `` How am I going to finish ? Then one day I realized there was this app for the iPhone called the Super 8 app . It was $ 1 . It worked very well . Actually , I used that for the film . '' The film gets its title from `` Sugar Man , '' a 1970 Rodriguez song about a drug peddler . `` It was this lost masterpiece , like a Cinderella story , a fairy tale , '' Bendjelloul said of Rodriguez 's life . `` I never heard anything like that . A story that was so rich and true . '' Bendjelloul , who was born on September 17 , 1977 , in Sweden , performed in the Swedish TV series `` Ebba och Didrik '' as a child in the 1990s and later studied journalism and media production at the Linnaeus University of Kalmar , according to imdb.com . He produced several musical documentaries for Swedish TV . Bendjelloul also worked as a reporter on the show `` Kobra '' until he resigned to travel the world , which was when he first came across the story of Rodriguez , according to imdb.com . `` It 's a touching story that hits you in the heart , '' he said . `` And also he 's such a lovable character . Everyone falls in love with him . He 's a person you can actually really love . '' In 2013 , his debut feature beat out `` 5 Broken Cameras , '' `` The Gatekeepers , '' `` How to Survive a Plague '' and `` The Invisible War '' for best documentary . `` Oh boy ! '' Bendjelloul said in his acceptance speech . `` Thanks to one of the greatest singers ever , Rodriguez . '' Bendjelloul had likened the Oscar to winning his native country 's Nobel Prize . `` This is the only one that is on the same level , '' he said . People we 've lost in 2014 . CNN 's Ray Sanchez and Nischelle Turner contributed to this report .
Director Malik Bendjelloul died suddenly in Stockholm , Sweden , police say . Bendjelloul directed ` ` Searching for Sugar Man , '' which won a best documentary award . Police say foul play is not suspected in the filmmaker 's death .