Chilean director Sebastián Lelio, Oscar winner, dies aged 52

Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio died at the age of 52, his partner Amalia Kassai revealed on Instagram that the family was going through a painful period. Chilean media said the director passed away at his residence in Las Condes, a suburb of Santiago.

Born in Argentina, Lelio moved to Chile when he was two years old. After a brief stint studying journalism, he completed film school and issued his first documentary, Cero, in 2003. His debut narrative feature, The Sacred Family, opened the San Sebastián festival in 2005.

His 2009 film Christmas premiered at Cannes, but it was the 2013 drama Gloria that earned him wider acclaim, debuting in Berlin and securing an acting prize for lead Paulina García. Lelio then created A Fantastic Woman, which became the first Chilean picture to win the Oscar for best international feature, receiving a five‑star review from the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw.

“When we released it in 2017, a gender identity bill had been dormant in congress for seven years,” he told the Guardian in 2018. “Somehow, the film’s release, and the year in which it became globally known, helped to reactivate the discussion in Chile.”

His English‑language debut came with Disobedience, a London‑set drama starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams that earned five British Independent Film Award nominations. He later remade Gloria as Gloria Bell with Julianne Moore and adapted Emma Donoghue’s novel The Wonder starring Florence Pugh.

“I love working with actors, and need to know they trust me and can explore, get lost, be foolish or brave, and I’ll take care of them,” he said to the Guardian. “I love working on set – it is where the sparkle is.”

Lelio’s last project was the 2025 musical protest drama The Wave, which premiered at Cannes. “Making a film is like a gift you leave somewhere – you then hide and see what happens,” he remarked.