Acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz has died from a pulmonary infection.

According to Daniel Yates' IMDB mini-biography, "Ruiz has proved one of the most exciting and innovative filmmakers of recent years, providing more intellectual fun and artistic experimentation, shot for shot, than any filmmaker since Jean-Luc Godard." He goes on to lament, "only a handful of Ruiz's films are available for viewing in the US, and it is on these few films that his reputation here is built."

Dave Kehr writes, "Ruiz’s passing at 70 represents a tremendous loss for contemporary filmmaking. After a relatively fallow decade, he seemed to be have recovered his fierce creativity with Mysteries of Lisbon (scheduled to begin an exclusive run at Landmark's Ken Cinema on September 23), which won the Prix Louis Delluc last year."

Ruiz's last will be my first.

The passing of the prolific director comes as somewhat of a personal wake-up call. It is with a great deal of shame and embarrassment that I must confess to having seen none of the 114 titles IMDB credits the director with.

The good news is, even with over 20,000 films logged, there remains reels to go before I sleep.

Descanse en paz, Raúl Ruiz. I look forward to meeting you.