As I was writing my review of the irritating Argentinian film Family Law, about fatherhood and Jewish identity in South America, I was reminded of another, better movie about South American Jews. Whisky, which was part of the Global Lens series and the Seattle Jewish Film Festival but never received a proper theatrical run, is an amazing, melancholic film about fraternal competition, national pride, and a decrepit Uruguayan sock factory. My reviews appeared here and here. Whisky is available on DVD now, and Scarecrow has a copy.

The movie was sad enough already (and also quite funny), but as I found out, co-writer/director Juan Pablo Rebella shot himself in the head this past July. I’d somehow missed the news.

According to this obituary in the Guardian, Rebella’s body was discovered by his girlfriend and his writing-directing partner Pablo Stoll. They’d been working on a new film.