Sebastián Lelio, Director of Oscar Winner A Fantastic Woman, Dead at 53

Sebastián Lelio, the Chilean director known for films including A Fantastic Woman, Disobedience, and Gloria Bell, is dead at 53. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio, due to health-related reasons,” his partner, the actress Amalia Kassai, wrote on Instagram. “We are going through a time of deep sorrow, and his memory will remain with us forever. He was a wonderful person who made significant contributions to Chilean culture at key moments in its history. As a family, we ask for respect for our privacy and for consideration during these difficult times.”

Lelio was born in Argentina but moved to Chile when he was 2 years old. After attending journalism school, his first film was 2003’s Cero, a documentary about 9/11. He released his first narrative feature film, La Sagrada Familia, in 2005. His breakout came in 2013 with Gloria, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won its star, Paulina García, the Silver Bear for Best Actress. In 2018, Lelio directed the Rachel McAdams– and Rachel Weisz–starring film Disobedience. The next year, he remade his film Gloria as Gloria Bell, starring Julianne Moore.

But Lelio will likely best remembered for his 2017 film A Fantastic Woman, which won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, becoming the first Chilean film to win the award. It stars Daniela Vega as Marina, a Chilean trans woman whose lover dies, leaving her to deal with his family alone. “The title of Sebastián Lelio’s new film might seem a bit on the nose,” the New York Times wrote. “It’s a fantastic movie.” Following the film’s release, the Chilean government approved a bill allowing people older than 14 to officially change both their name and gender — a change that some attributed to the film reigniting Chile’s conversation about trans issues. “It just so happens that the woman that is experiencing all of this is a transgender woman, and that puts everything in a different dimension, not because of her but because of how the world treats her,” Lelio told Music Box Theatre. “Marina already transitioned years ago; she won that battle. The film is not about that, it’s not about the consequences of transitioning. Marina is ready for the world; the only little detail is that the world is not ready for her, but that’s not her fault.”