Sebastián Lelio, the acclaimed Chilean filmmaker whose drama A Fantastic Woman won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, has died at 52.
Lelio was found dead at his home in Las Condes, Santiago, around midday Friday by his partner, actress Amalia Kassai, who contacted authorities, according to Chilean outlet Emol.
His family and Kassai said he died after suffering “health complications.” They did not provide a specific medical cause, and it remains unclear whether he had been dealing with any ongoing health problems before his death.
“With great sadness, we announce the death, following health complications, of Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio,” the family said in a statement.
“We are going through a time of profound grief, and his memory will remain with us forever. He was a wonderful person who made significant contributions to Chilean culture at important moments in its history. As a family, we ask for privacy and consideration during these difficult times.”
In a deeply personal tribute, Kassai wrote that Lelio had been “an important person” to many people.
Sebastián Lelio, the acclaimed Chilean director, screenwriter and producer who won an Oscar for A Fantastic Woman, has died at 52; he is pictured at the 90th Annual Academy Awards in 2018
In an emotional tribute, his partner Amalia Kassai said Lelio was “an important person” to many; the couple are pictured at the BAFTA Nominees Party in London in 2023
Alongside a carousel of romantic photographs, she wrote: “I love you in this life and in all the lives to come. He illuminated everything and everything around him … Only love remains.”
At the time of his death, Lelio was filming an adaptation of Chilean Poet, the novel by Alejandro Zambra. Production began in September.
He was also developing Voyagers, an English-language film expected to feature Andrew Garfield as astronomer Carl Sagan and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Cosmos filmmaker Ann Druyan.
Lelio’s latest completed feature was the musical drama The Wave, which premiered worldwide at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
His final film was loosely inspired by Chile’s feminist protests in 2018 and included Kassai in the role of Paz.
His other notable credits included 2011’s The Year of the Tiger, the 2017 romantic drama Disobedience starring Rachel Weisz, the 2018 comedy-drama Gloria with Julianne Moore, and the 2022 psychological thriller The Wonder starring Florence Pugh.
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Released in 2017, A Fantastic Woman earned Lelio the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming only the second film from Chile to win an Academy Award.
The film follows Marina, played by Daniela Vega, a transgender woman who works as a waitress while pursuing her dream of becoming a singer in Santiago. Her life is thrown into turmoil when her older partner, Orlando, portrayed by Francisco Reyes, dies suddenly from an aneurysm.
Lelio’s family and Kassai said he died following “health complications”; she shared this photograph of the couple in her tribute
Lelio’s latest completed film, the musical drama The Wave, premiered at Cannes in 2025 and featured Kassai
Kassai posted a series of affectionate photographs of the couple in memory of her late partner
Sony Pictures Classics, distributor of the Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman, called Sebastián Lelio “a one-of-a-kind filmmaker whose work continued to evolve and surprise audiences around the world”
A Fantastic Woman also received major honors at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Goya Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards.
Lelio was born in Mendoza, Argentina, and moved to Chile with his Chilean mother, Valeria, when he was two years old.
He later described his childhood and adolescence as “nomadic” in a 2013 interview with Revista Nos.
“Up to the age of 21, I was moving between different cities in Chile,” Lelio said.
“I lived for a time in the United States, and also in Viña del Mar; my maternal family is from Viña … essentially I was never more than two or three years in the same city.”
He studied journalism for a year before graduating from the Chilean Film School.
Sony Pictures Classics, which distributed A Fantastic Woman, said Friday: “Sebastián Lelio was a one-of-a-kind filmmaker whose work continued to evolve and surprise audiences around the world.”
“His distinctive storytelling 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.”
