Director Florin Serban said Chilibar died at home in Bucharest on Sunday from leukemia. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison in March for breaking into a company headquarters and stealing. He served some of his sentence in hospital.

Chilibar played a supporting role of Ursu, a semi-illiterate but sensitive prisoner in the movie directed by Serban which won the Silver Bear runner-up prize at the 2010 Berlin film festival. It depicts the tough story of a youth who panics that his mother will flee the country with his younger brother while he is in a juvenile reform center. Serban said Chilibar was "born to be an actor."