Sebastián Lelio, Chilean director of Gloria and A Fantastic Woman, dies at 52
Lelio's A Fantastic Woman won the Oscar for Best International Feature, the first Chilean film to take the award.
Chilean writer-director Sebastián Lelio, whose films included Gloria and A Fantastic Woman, died on Friday at the age of 52, according to Variety. The outlet published its report on November 9, 2026.
Lelio made his feature debut with The Sacred Family in 2005. Navidad was selected for the 2009 Cannes Directors' Fortnight program, and The Year of the Tiger was released in 2011 and competed at Locarno.
Gloria was released in 2013 and was selected for the main competition at Berlin. In 2017, it was announced that Lelio would helm a US remake of the film; that version, Gloria Bell, premiered in 2019 and starred Julianne Moore.
A Fantastic Woman, released in 2017, won the Best Screenplay award at the Berlinale and later won the Oscar for Best International Feature, the first Chilean film to do so. That same year brought Disobedience, Lelio's English-language debut, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams.
Quick answers
How old was Sebastián Lelio?
He was 52.
Which film won Lelio an Oscar?
A Fantastic Woman won the Oscar for Best International Feature, the first Chilean film to do so.
What was Lelio's English-language debut?
Disobedience, released in 2017 and starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams.