The Meltdown (film)
Upcoming Chilean drama film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Meltdown (Spanish: El deshielo) is a 2026 drama film written and directed by Manuela Martelli. Starring Maya O'Rourke, Maia Rae Domagala, Saskia Rosendahl, Jakub Gierszal and Paulina Urrutia.[1][2]
- Julio Chavezmontes
- Alejandra García
- Alex C. Lo
- Andrés Wood
| The Meltdown | |
|---|---|
| Spanish | El deshielo |
| Directed by | Manuela Martelli |
| Written by | Manuela Martelli |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Benjamín Echazarreta |
| Edited by | Yibrán Asuad |
| Music by | Mariá Portugal |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | Spanish |
The film had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 14 May.[3][4][5]
Premise
In 1992 Chile, a young girl named Inés stays with her grandparents, who own a hotel near a ski resort. She befriends Hanna, a German skier training in Chile, before Hanna disappears.[6]
Cast
- Maya O'Rourke as Inés[7]
- Maia Rae Domagala as Hanna
- Saskia Rosendahl as Lina
- Jakub Gierszal as Alexander
- Paulina Urrutia as Techa
- Mauricio Pesutic as Ricardo
Production
Development
It is the second installment of a planned trilogy by Martelli about Chile late 20th century history, following 1976 (2022).[8][9]
The film is produced by Alejandra Garcia at Ronda Cine (Chile); Alex C. Lo at Cinema Inutile (United States); and Andrés Wood at Wood Producciones (Chile); in co-production with Elastica Films (Spain), Piano (Mexico); and Rio Fundación (Chile).[6][8]
Themes
The film contains themes of childhood, history, and horror. Martelli stated that her "main interest is going back to history through characters and through their emotions and experiences, instead of addressing history with a capital H".[10]
Release
The Meltdown was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 14 May.[3]
Reception
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter underscored the film to be "haunted and haunting" in the bottom line.[11]
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the "unnerving thriller ", equal parts The Spirit of the Beehive and Picnic at Hanging Rock, a B- rating, pointing out that it rebukes "the notion that a certain amount of collective forgetting is required for a post-fascist country to make way for tomorrow".[12]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[13]