Chilean film-maker Sebastián Lelio has died at age 52 at his home in Santiago. His partner Amalia Kassai announced the death on Instagram without specifying the cause.
Lelio directed the Oscar-winning trans drama A Fantastic Woman, which became the first Chilean film to win best international feature. He also made Gloria, which premiered at Berlin in 2013 and won its lead actor Paulina García an acting award at the festival. His English-language films included Disobedience, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, Gloria Bell with Julianne Moore, and The Wonder with Florence Pugh.
Born in Argentina, Lelio moved to Chile at age two. He released a documentary called Cero in 2003 and his first narrative film, The Sacred Family, premiered at San Sebastián in 2005. His most recent film, The Wave, a musical protest drama, premiered at Cannes in 2025.
In a 2018 Guardian interview, Lelio said the global success of A Fantastic Woman in 2017 helped reactivate discussion in Chile around a gender identity bill that had been dormant in congress for seven years. He told the outlet that he loved working with actors and needed to know they trusted him to explore freely on set.