Who was Aaron Kaufman? Emmy-nominated director of Ukraine war documentary 'Superpower' dies at 51

Filmmaker Aaron Kaufman, best known for directing the Ukraine war documentary Superpower, died on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 51. Verdi Productions head, Chard Verdi, confirmed the news with The Hollywood Reporter in a written statement.

"It’s a very sad time for everyone who loved Aaron," Verdi wrote in an email to The Hollywood Reporter.

Several reports indicate that the director was in Las Vegas and suffered an apparent heart attack.

"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," Verdi shared.

Before Superpower, which earned Kaufman an Emmy nomination, he had worked on notable films like Machete, Urge (2016), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), and Crusaders: Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses Speak Out (2021).

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Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing inspired Aaron Kaufman's love for movie making

Born in Long Island, New York, Aaron Kaufman fell in love with moviemaking at 14 when he saw Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.

"I had always loved film but I never thought about what a director did. Then I saw Do the Right Thing when I was 14 and that changed everything. My mind was on fire because all of this stuff you’ve never seen in movies before was packed into this movie. It had something to say. It had the energy. It was just amazing," Kaufman told Fast Company in a 2014 interview.

Per Fast Company's 2014 interview with Kaufman, he wanted to pursue a career in movies and began studying films at New York University. However, his father was not happy with his choice and convinced him to drop out.

After that, he married at 21 and had his first child a year later. At 24, he opened an animation company, Fountainhead Studios. He sold the business a year later to try his luck in the entertainment industry. The filmmaker began working for Island Records founder Chris Blackwell’s Palm Pictures.

Per his 2012 profile on the Doha Film Institute's website, Aaron Kaufman founded the production company Barbarian Film Group sometime in the 2000s. Through the company, he served as the executive producer on The Greatest (2009) and Spread (2009).

He met director Robert Rodriguez due to his works and notable film credits in his name. The pair worked together for six years at Troublemaker Studios and Quick Draw Productions, developing and producing hit films like Machete (2010), its sequel Machete Kills (2013), and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014).

Around the time, Aaron Kaufman also produced films like 13 (2010), Chef (2014), and Flock of Dudes (2016). After his partnership with Rodriguez ended, Kaufman took up his passion for directing. In an August 2015 interview with the HuffPost, he explained:

"Being a movie producer for 15 years was great. I loved it. But being a producer is like dating a girl you really like, but always dropping her off at someone else's house at the end of the night. Directors get to do the fun stuff."

While his directorial debut, Urge (2016), was received negatively, his films Crusaders: Ex Jehovah's Witnesses Speak Out (2021) and Superpower (2023) earned him success.

Variety, quoting Amber Scorah, who was one of the people Kaufman interviewed for Crusaders (and became his friend), wrote:

"Aaron was the kind of person who did everything for everyone behind the scenes, even after others had moved on or it wasn’t going to bring him any glory."

In his interview with HuffPost, Aaron Kaufman credited Roger Smith, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Sydney Lumet, and Chris Blackwell as his mentors.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, before his death, the filmmaker was working on directing Stealing Don Ho and Iron Birds (both moves were completed). He was also set to produce The Jet (still in pre-production).

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Aaron Kaufman is survived by his three children, partner Kea (Don Ho's daughter), mother, and siblings.