Sebastián Lelio, Chilean writer-director and film festival favorite behind dramas such as Gloria, Disobedience, The wonder and the Oscar winner A fantastic womandied. He was 52 years old.
Lelio was found dead on Friday by his partner, Amalia Kassai, at his home in the Las Condes district of Santiago, according to the Chilean press agency. El Mercurio online reported.
Lelio co-wrote and directed the steamy Gloria (2013), which premiered in Berlin and starred Paulina García as a middle-aged divorcee. He then took on the bittersweet American remake, Gloria Bell (2018), with Julianne Moore and John Turturro.
He also co-wrote and directed the psychological thrillers Disobedience (2017), which starred Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola and bowed in Toronto, and The wonder (2022), a study of religious fanaticism and sexual abuse starring Florence Pugh and which debuted in Telluride.
A fantastic woman (2017) starred Daniela Vega as a transgender woman who struggles to cope with the death of her partner. It won the foreign language Oscar in 2018 – the first Chilean film to win in this category – the Golden Bear in Berlin and the Spirit Award for best international film.
“Shocking and infuriating, funny and surreal, ravishing and restorative, this is a film of surprising intensity and twisting mood swings wrapped in an unfailing coherence of vision. » The Hollywood Reporter wrote chief film critic David Rooney in his review.
His most recent film was Cannes entry The wave (2025), a musical drama that revolves around a Chilean student (Daniela López). She is inspired by the feminist protest movement that swept her country in 2018.
Born in Argentina on March 8, 1974, Lelio and his family moved to Viña del Mar, Chile when he was 2 years old. He studied at the Chilean Film School and made a series of short films, followed by his first feature film, the sex drama. The Sacred Family (2005), which impressed the audience at the San Sebastian Festival.
His other early films included Navity (2009) and The year of the Tiger (2011). He was working on the film Chilean poetbased on a novel by Alejandro Zambra, at the time of his death.
“Sebastián Lelio was a one-of-a-kind filmmaker whose work continued to evolve and surprise audiences around the world,” said Sony Pictures Classics, which distributes A fantastic womansaid in a statement. “His distinctive story and singular vision will live on through a remarkable body of work that challenged conventions, touched hearts and left an indelible mark on international cinema. He will be deeply missed.”
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