Aaron Kaufman, a writer, director and producer whose credits include “Superpower” and “Machete Kills,” died on Thursday evening in Las Vegas after suffering an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

Kaufman’s death was confirmed by Chad Verdi, the film financier behind “The Irishman” as well as several of Kaufman’s past and upcoming projects.

The Long Island native, who was Robert Rodriguez’s longtime producing partner, is best known for co-directing with Sean Penn the Emmy-nominated documentary “Superpower,” which traced the political rise of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While Penn became the face of the 2023 documentary, it was Kaufman who had been on the ground in Ukraine in February 2022 when the ongoing war with Russia broke out. Kaufman had been in Kyiv in the weeks leading up to Russia’s invasion and had been in the bunker with the Ukrainian leader during the perilous first days of the conflict. (Penn...