The film “A Fantastic Woman” made him an Oscar winner: Now the Chilean director Sebastián Lelio, who had lived for several years in Berlin, has died in his homeland Chile at the age of 52. “With great sadness” Lelio’s partner Amalia Kassai announced on Instagram the death of her partner, who was one of Latin America’s most internationally renowned filmmakers. The death was cited by the German-Chilean actress as “health reasons”.
Lelio was found lifeless in his house in Las Condes in the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile, local media reported in unison. Chile’s Culture Minister Francisco Undurraga expressed deep distress and praised Lelio’s achievements, whose films had driven the country “to the top of the audiovisual world.” The Chilean actors’ guild “Chile Actores” also reacted with shock: Lelio’s death represented “an enormous loss” for Chile’s culture and film industry.
With “A Fantastic Woman” (Original title: “Una mujer fantástica”), he won in 2018 as director the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (TheColu.mn reported). It was the only time so far that the foreign-language Oscar went to Chile. The work depicts the life of a transgender woman and earned the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlinale the year before.
Close Ties to Berlin
The Chilean had already come to Berlin in 2012; for half a year he was a guest of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Artists-in-Berlin Program. During this time he worked on the editing of his film “Gloria”, shot in Chile and whose world premiere took place the following year in the Berlinale competition.
The portrait of a charismatic woman in her late fifties thrilled audiences and earned three prizes, with lead actress Paulina García winning the Silver Bear as Best Actress. From “Gloria” Lelio would later shoot a Hollywood remake with Julianne Moore in the lead role.
He remained in the German capital for several years and founded in Kreuzberg the South American restaurant “Gloria”. Also for his other film projects he drew inspiration from Berlin. “What we experienced here with ‘Gloria’ is a milestone in our lives and at the same time the city was unexpectedly very important,” Lelio told the German press agency dpa in 2017 when he was preparing “A Fantastic Woman”.
The idea for it was born in Berlin, the city had “interfered” with the film, Lelio recounted at the time, then 43. Daniela Vega plays a young trans woman who is in a happy relationship with an older man. His sudden death upends all her plans—and she must fight prejudice once again. “My film is in every sense ‘trans’ — and about resisting labels,” Lelio said in a 2017 interview with TheColu.mn.
Direct link | Trailer “A Fantastic Woman”
Born in Argentina, raised in Chile
The filmmaker was born in 1974 in Mendoza, Argentina. He spent his childhood in Viña del Mar in Chile, and studied at the film school in Santiago, the capital. After making several short films, he ventured into the drama “La sagrada familia” in 2005. Even then, his interest in examining prejudices and social hypocrisy from a new perspective became evident.
