He won the 2018 Academy Award for best international film for his groundbreaking drama A Fantastic Woman, about a transgender woman.
Director Sebastian Lelio appears at the photocall for the film "La Ola" at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 17, 2025. (Photo: Lewis Joly/Invision/AP, File)
Director Sebastian Lelio appears at the photocall for the film "La Ola" at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 17, 2025. (Photo: Lewis Joly/Invision/AP, File)
Oscar-winning Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Lelio, whose acclaimed drama A Fantastic Woman broke ground with its portrayal of a transgender woman, has died in Santiago, Chile, at 52.
His family announced his death Friday in an Instagram post, citing health reasons but not specifying the 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.
It was Chile’s second Academy Award, following the animated short Bear Story in 2016.
Lelio’s other films include Gloria, The Wave, The Wonder, Disobedience, and The Year of the Tiger. Throughout his career, he collaborated with 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 the Argentine city of Mendoza and moved to Chile at the age of two. He studied journalism for a year before enrolling at the Chilean Film School.
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