Aaron Kaufman, who directed the documentary Superpower about the war in Ukraine alongside Sean Penn and was a longtime producing partner of Robert Rodriguez, has died. He was 51.
Kaufman died Thursday in Las Vegas, Verdi Productions President Chad Verdi told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. Reports indicated that Kaufman died of an apparent heart attack.
“It’s a very sad time for everyone who loved Aaron,” Verdi wrote in an email to THR. “Aaron passed away Thursday night. He and I spoke by phone about 20 minutes prior to 911 being called. He was in great spirits and was headed to dinner. Life is short and family and friends are everything. I miss him a lot already.”
Kaufman may be best known for the Emmy-nominated documentary, but he also wrote, directed and produced several films, including Machete, Machete Kills, Urge and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. He also executive produced The Greatest, Powder Blue, Spread, 13 Chef and Flock of Dudes.
Before Superpower, Kaufman also produced and directed Crusaders: Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses Speak Out, which blew the whistle on the religious group’s alleged protecting of thousands of admitted pedophiles worldwide.
While Penn became the face of their documentary, Kaufman was the director on the ground when the war began in February 2022, after being in Kyiv in the weeks following Russia’s invasion. The project was originally meant to shine a light on President Volodymyr Zelensky and tell a “whimsical tale of a comic actor turned president.” But, when the invasion happened, the film’s subject changed radically.
“Ukraine is not just a national interest for the United States, it is the United States – or at least a fledgling version trying its best to grow up,” Kaufman wrote in an op-ed in Newsweek about his experience in the country’s capital. “We simply cannot ignore this. If we do, we have lost all sense of who we were, who we are, and who we will become.”
Born in Long Island, New York, Kaufman began a small animation company in his 20s. He sold the firm after a year, and then began working for Chris Blackwell’s Palm Pictures. In the early 2000s, he founded his production company, Barbarian Films.
Kaufman met Rodriguez through an agent, and they worked together for six years at Troublemaker Studios and Quick Draw Productions. After their collaboration concluded, he started following his passion and directing more films.
As a director, Kaufman had two upcoming projects, Stealing Don Ho and Iron Birds — and both were completed before his death. He was also set to serve as a producer on The Jet, which is still in pre-production.
Kaufman is survived by his three children and his partner Kea, Don Ho’s daughter.
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