Oscar-winning Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Lelio has died at 52, his partner confirmed, after he was found at their home in Santiago.
According to The Sun and Chilean reports, actress Amalia Kassai said Lelio passed away at home in the capital’s Las Condes district due to “health reasons.” Kassai reportedly contacted police after discovering him. A family statement shared on Instagram described a moment of deep pain and asked the public for privacy.
“We are going through a very painful time, and his memory will remain with us forever,” the tribute said. “He was a wonderful person who contributed to Chilean culture during important moments in its history.” The message was signed by the Lelio Kassai and Campos Watt families.
Kassai later posted a more personal farewell, writing that her love for him “does not fit in the word, does not fit in my body, does not fit in time,” and closing with the line that has been widely quoted across Chilean media: “Solo queda el amor” — only love remains.
Lelio’s defining international breakthrough was 2017’s A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantastica), starring Daniela Vega as a transgender woman navigating grief and hostility after the death of her older partner. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2018 and the Independent Spirit Award for best international film. Advocates and critics alike credited its visibility with helping push gender-identity reforms in Chile.
Before that Oscar night, Lelio had already built a reputation for intimate, character-driven dramas. Gloria (2013) earned Paulina Garcia major festival recognition as a middle-aged divorced woman reclaiming desire and independence; Lelio later remade the story in English as Gloria Bell (2018) with Julianne Moore. He also directed Disobedience (2017) with Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, and the Florence Pugh-led period drama The Wonder (2022), adapted from Emma Donoghue’s novel.
His earlier work traced a restless path through Chilean cinema — from La Sagrada Familia (2005) through The Year of the Tiger, set after the 2010 earthquake — and into documentary television with Mi mundo privado (My Private Life), which drew Emmy nominations. His final completed feature, the 2025 Cannes premiere The Wave, was a musical protest drama; Kassai appeared in that project as well.
Born in Argentina and raised in Chile from age two, Lelio often spoke about the trust he needed from actors on set. “I love working with actors, and need to know they trust me and can explore, get lost, be foolish or brave, and I’ll take care of them,” he told The Guardian. “I love working on set — it is where the sparkle is.”
That sparkle now sits in a filmography that moved from local festival favorite to Oscar history without abandoning the quiet human stakes that defined his best work. For Chilean culture — and for the collaborators who trusted him — the sudden loss at 52 leaves a space no remake can fill.
Source: The Sun
