A masterclass with the Oscar-winning Chilean director Sebastián Lelio about writing, directing, and cross-border creation.

Oscar-winning director Sebastián Lelio is one of the most prominent Chilean filmmakers that have burst onto the world stage and achieved international acclaim. Lelio’s humanistic films are free-spirited and full of passion and intimacy, alongside loneliness and heartbreak. The trust he builds with actors leads to honest performances, with distinct nuances and full of life. The unexpected heroines of his later films are women who challenge social expectations. Their search for acceptance and love raises questions about society and about ourselves. His film “A Fantastic Woman” (2017), about a transgender waitress and singer who finds herself under intense scrutiny from the authorities and the family of her lover, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and also the Best Screenplay Award, and the Teddy Award at the Berlinale.

Lelio was born in Argentina and moved to Chile with his mother when he was two years old. After a year of studying journalism he enrolled in the Chilean Film School. His first film “La Sagrada Familia” (2006) won more than 25 awards; “Navidad” (2009) premiered in 2009 at the Cannes Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, “The Year of the Tiger” (2011) at the international competition of Locarno Film Festival. “Gloria” (2013) premiered in the Competition of the Berlinale, where it received the Ecumenic Award and a Silver Bear for best actress. Following “A Fantastic Woman”, Lelio went on to direct English-speaking films, “Disobedience” (2017) starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams; and “Gloria Bell” (2019) starring Julianne Moore and John Turturro, a remake of “Gloria”. His new film, “The Wonder” starring Florence Pugh, is currently in post-production.