Sebastián Lelio, the Oscar-winning Chilean filmmaker behind A Fantastic Woman, died in Santiago at age 52, his family announced on Instagram.
The Story
Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio has died in Santiago, Chile, at 52, according to a Friday Instagram post by his family that cited health reasons without specifying a cause. “His memory will remain forever among us,” the family said. “He was a beautiful person who contributed to Chilean culture in great moments of its history.”
Lelio won the 2018 Academy Award for best international film (formerly known as foreign language film) for A Fantastic Woman, starring trans actress Daniela Vega as a waitress and nightclub singer whose life is torn by the death of her boyfriend. The win was Chile’s second Oscar, following the animated short Bear Story in 2016.
His other films include Gloria, The Wave, The Wonder, Disobedience and The Year of the Tiger. Throughout his career, Lelio collaborated with actors including Julianne Moore, Rachel Weisz and Florence Pugh.
Lelio had begun filming Poeta Chileno (Chilean Poet) based on the book by Alejandro Zambra in September. He was born in Mendoza, Argentina, and moved to Chile at age 2, studied journalism for a year, and later enrolled at the Chilean Film School.
← More stories