Argentine director Alejandro Chomski died at the age of 53 yesterday in his home in Buenos Aires. According to local news outlets he died in his sleep, and the causes will be determined. He directed several films, both in Argentina and the U.S., including his acclaimed debut feature Today and Tomorrow.
Chomski was born on November 27, 1968 in Buenos Aires. He studied film at New York University and at the American Film Institute. He worked as assistant director in Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes. After directing several shorts including A Moment of Silence, Dry Martini, and A Day in the Life of an Artist, in 2003 he premiered his debut feature Today and Tomorrow / Hoy y mañana in the Un Certain Regard competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Starring Antonella Castro, the film follows Paula, a young actress who struggles to keep her dignity as she faces her mounting debts amid Argentina’s ongoing economic crisis. As the day progresses, her options become increasingly dangerous and lead her into the back alleys of Buenos Aires.
In 2007 he directed the Feel the Noise, about a young man from the South Bronx dreams of making it as a rapper, until a run-in with local thugs forces him to hide in Puerto Rico with the father he never knew. Co-produced by Jennifer Lopez, the film starred Omarion, Giancarlo Esposito, Victor Rasuk and James McCaffrey. A year later, he directed another English-language film A Beautiful Life in Los Angeles.
In 2010, he directed Asleep in the Sun / Dormir al sol, based on the novel by Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Cazares, which played at the San Francisco and Karlovy Vary film festivals. Other film credits include Maldito Seas Waterfall! (2016), the documentary films Existir sin vos. Una noche con Charly García (2016) on the popular Argentine rock musician, and Alek (2017). His last feature film was the cinematic adaptation of Paul Auster’s novel In the Country of Last Things / El país de las últimas cosas, starring Maria de Medeiros, Juan Fernández, Christopher Von Uckermann.
In 2002, filmmaker Santiago García Isler directed the documentary film Who Is Alejandro Chomski? / ¿Quién es Alejandro Chomski?, featuring friends and colleagues of the Argentine director including Jim Jarmusch, Emir Kusturica, Andrés Fogwill, Fernando Ulloa, Vera Fogwill, Julie Delpy, Axel Kuschevatzky, Charly García, Leonora Balcarce, and Ben Gazzara.
