Sebastián Lelio, Chilean Director of Oscar-Winning ‘A Fantastic Woman,’ Dies at 52

Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio, director of the Oscar-winning film “A Fantastic Woman”, has died at 52 at his home in Santiago. His partner, actress Amalia Kassai, said his death was due to health reasons and asked for privacy for their family.

“A Fantastic Woman”, starring Daniela Vega, won the 2018 Oscar for best foreign language film and helped prompt reforms to trans identification in Chile. Lelio also directed “Gloria Bell”, “Disobedience” and “The Wonder”; his latest film was “The Wave”, and he had been working on “Chilean Poet”.