Chilean film-maker Sebastián Lelio has died at the age of 52.

He was best known for the Oscar-winning trans drama A Fantastic Woman and his English-language films included Gloria Bell and The Wonder.

His partner Amalia Kassai announced his death on Instagram without specifying the cause of death but telling followers, in Spanish, that it was a painful time for his family. Chilean media reports that he died at his home in Las Condes, Santiago.

Lelio was born in Argentina but moved to Chile at the age of two. He studied journalism for one year before graduating from film school and then released 9/11 documentary Cero in 2003. His first narrative film The Sacred Family premiered at the San Sebastián film festival in 2005.

His follow-up, 2009’s Christmas, premiered at Cannes but it was 2013’s Gloria that provided him with a major international breakthrough.…