Sebastián Lelio, Oscar-winning Chilean filmmaker, dies at 52
Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio has died at the age of 52. His partner, actress Amalia Kassai, announced his death on Instagram, saying his death was “due to health reasons.” According to Chilean news outlet El Mercurio Online, Kassai contacted police after he was found at his home in Las Condes district of Santiago. The family did not specify a cause of death.
Lelio was born in the Argentine city of Mendoza and moved to Chile at the age of two. He studied journalism for one year before graduating from film school. His first narrative film, The Sacred Family, premiered at the San Sebastián film festival in 2005. His follow-up, 2009’s Christmas, premiered at Cannes.
His international breakthrough came with 2013’s Gloria, which premiered at Berlin and won its lead star Paulina García an acting award at the festival. He followed it with A Fantastic Woman, a drama about the life of a trans woman. The film became the first Chilean film to win the Oscar for best international feature. In a five-star review, the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it “a sublime study in the exalted ordeal of grief.”
Lelio made his English language debut with London-set drama Disobedience, which told a queer love story between women played by Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. It was nominated for five British independent film awards. He then remade Gloria as Gloria Bell, set in America and starring Julianne Moore in the lead role. He followed it with a critically acclaimed adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel The Wonder starring Florence Pugh.
His final film was 2025’s The Wave, a musical protest drama that premiered at Cannes. He had begun filming Poeta Chileno, based on the book by Alejandro Zambra, in September.
“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.”
