Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio, Oscar winner for ‘A Fantastic Woman,’ dies at 52
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- Sebastián Lelio, the Chilean filmmaker whose “A Fantastic Woman” won an Academy Award, has died in Santiago at 52; his family cited health reasons but did not specify a cause.
- The film, starring transgender actor Daniela Vega, broke ground in its portrayal of a trans woman and earned Chile its second Academy Award; Lelio had begun a new film, “Poeta Chileno,” in September
SANTIAGO, Chile — Oscar-winning Chilean filmmaker Sebastián 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 foreign language film (now international film) for “A Fantastic Woman,” starring trans actor 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.
She’s divorced, in her 50s, works a nondescript office job and likes belting out power ballads while stuck in L.A. traffic.
Lelio was born March 8, 1974, in Mendoza, Argentina, before moving to Chile at the age of 2. He described his early life as “nomadic,” including a stay in the United States, and the family rarely stayed in one place for more than two or three years.
He studied journalism for a year before enrolling at the Chilean Film School and subsequently directed short films, musical videos and documentaries.
The young filmmaker quickly garnered international acclaim when his feature debut “La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)” premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2005. Four years later, his second feature, “Navidad (Christmas),” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
“The Year of the Tiger,” set in the aftermath of the 2010 Chile earthquake, premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2011. Critical acclaim increased with “Gloria,” Lelio’s fourth feature film, which won awards at San Sebastián in 2012 and the Berlin International Film Festival in 2013.
“A Fantastic Woman” premiered in Berlin in 2017, beginning its journey to the Oscars. Former Times critic Justin Chang’s review compared Lelio to “Pedro Almodóvar, with whom he shares an exquisite sensitivity to colors, textures and compositions — an ability to harness the emotionally expressive power of the medium.”
On Oscar night, Lelio said, “I’m on Jupiter. I can’t believe that this happened. It is a film that has managed to contribute to a necessary and urgent conversation.”
“I didn’t make a casting decision as a fascist decision but as an act of freedom,” the filmmaker said of choosing Vega to star. “Casting is an art. The presence of Daniela brought a quality to the story that adds a layer of complexity and beauty that I think a cisgender actor would not have been capable of bringing.”
In 2017, Lelio also made his English-language directing debut with “Disobedience,” a passionate drama starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. “Lelio’s work … is characterized by complex and nuanced female characters,” wrote then-Times critic Kenneth Turan.
Two years later, Lelio remade his 2013 Spanish-language movie “Gloria” in English as “Gloria Bell,” starring Julianne Moore in the title role as an ordinary single mother navigating the indignities of middle age.
“When Trump got elected, I thought, ‘Now is the time to do this,’” Lelio told The Times. “Suddenly, the story of a woman who claims a right to be seen and heard becomes more urgent.”
Lelio’s also directed “The Wonder” (2022), starring Florence Pugh, and “The Wave,” his final completed film, a musical drama that had a U.S. release in July.
The filmmaker had begun filming “Poeta Chileno,” based on the book by Alejandro Zambra, in September and was reportedly a week from completing photography when he died.
Times assistant editor Kevin Crust contributed to this story.
