Sebastián Lelio death, Digi Mart USA News (Santiago, Chile): Sebastián Lelio, the Oscar-winning director behind A Fantastic Woman, has died at 52 after suffering health complications, according to a statement from his family. The New York Post, citing local outlet Emol, reported that he was found dead at his home in Santiago around midday Friday.
His longtime partner, actress Amalia Kassai, discovered him and called the police, Emol reported. In a statement, the family wrote: “With great sadness, we announce the death, following health complications, of Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio.
We are going through a time of profound grief, and his memory will remain with us forever.”
The family said Lelio made significant contributions to Chilean culture at important moments in its history. They asked for privacy and consideration during this difficult time.
The family did not share his exact cause of death, and it is not clear whether he had been dealing with health issues in recent weeks.
Kassai paid tribute to her partner on social media, calling him “for many, an important person.” 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 in the midst of filming an adaptation of Alejandro Zambra’s novel Chilean Poet. He was also slated to direct the highly anticipated film Voyagers, starring Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Lelio’s work includes several acclaimed films, among them Gloria, The Wave, The Wonder, Disobedience and The Year of the Tiger. Over his career, he collaborated with Julianne Moore, Rachel Weisz and Florence Pugh.
He won the 2018 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for A Fantastic Woman, marking Chile’s second Oscar, after the animated short Bear Story in 2016. Lelio was born in the Argentine city of Mendoza and moved to Chile at the age of two.
He studied journalism for a year before enrolling at the Chilean Film School.
