Ángel Salazar -- famous for playing Al Pacino's trusted sidekick "Chi Chi" in "Scarface" -- was filming an indie spin-off of the iconic gangster movie when he died ... and we've got the first look at him in action.
Director Eric Spade Rivas tells TMZ … Ángel seemed fatigued when shooting scenes in New Jersey back in April, but he was still getting ready to film more scenes later this year in Miami.
The movie is called "The Brooklyn Premiere" ... and it also features Steven Bauer, who plays Manny Ribera in the OG "Scarface." The film's about a Brooklyn film director facing a midlife crisis who sets out to make a "Scarface" parody comedy to revive his career.
TMZ obtained a couple clips showing Ángel with Steven.
Eric says he's known Ángel for 12 years, and he's going to press forward with the film ... because that's what Ángel would have wanted.
TMZ broke the story ... 69-year-old Ángel died in his sleep over the weekend at his friend's home in Brooklyn, which coincidentally is where the movie is set.
Eric tells us Ángel was one of the funniest people he's ever known ... and he's lucky to have worked with Salazar.