When It Melts
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''When It Melts'' () is a 2023
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
written and directed by
Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress, filmmaker, and singer best known for her lead role as Elise / Alabama in the romantic drama film '' The Broken Circle Breakdown'' (2012), for which she won the Tribeca Film Festival Aw ...
in her directorial debut. It is loosely based on the 2016 novel ''The Melting'' (''Het smelt'') by
Lize Spit Lize Spit (born 1988, in Viersel) is a Flemish Belgian writer. Her first novel, ''Het smelt'', won several awards, including the ''De Bronzen Uil'' award, and has been translated into French. Her second novel, ''Ik ben er niet'', launched on 10 ...
. The film stars Charlotte De Bruyne and Rosa Marchant, and explores themes of childhood trauma, the influence of family dynamics, and the struggle for personal identity. The film had its world premiere at the
2023 Sundance Film Festival The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' The Accidental Getaway Driver'', directed by Sing J. Lee ...
where it competed for the
Grand Jury Prize Dramatic This is the list of the winners of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for dramatic features. Winners International winners *2023: '' Scrapper'' *2024: '' Sujo'' *2025: '' Cactus Pears'' See also *Palme d'Or *Academy Award for Best Picture The Ac ...
. At the 2023 Ensor Awards, ''When It Melts'' received eight nominations, including Best Film and Best Director for Baetens.


Plot

Eva grows up with two boys in the small village of Bovenmeer. As they reach adolescence, the boys come up with cruel schemes, and Eva is faced with the difficult decision of whether to go along with them, a choice she feels powerless to avoid. Thirteen years after that fateful summer spiraled out of control, Eva returns to her hometown with a block of ice in the trunk of her car, intent on confronting the trauma of her past.


Production

Production for ''When It Melts'' was initially in the hands of the production company Menuet. After it ceased to exist in 2017, Savage Film, led by Bart Van Langendonck and Sarah Marks, took over. In early 2020, the film project was presented at the
Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
production market, where it won the ArteKino International Prize. The film also received financial support from the
Netherlands Film Fund The Netherlands Film Fund () is a subsidy funding, fund for Netherlands, Dutch film productions and was founded in 1993. The Netherlands Film Fund is itself mainly subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In 2007, the tota ...
and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund. In August 2021, filming commenced across various locations in Belgium, spanning two months. Actress
Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress, filmmaker, and singer best known for her lead role as Elise / Alabama in the romantic drama film '' The Broken Circle Breakdown'' (2012), for which she won the Tribeca Film Festival Aw ...
made her directorial debut with the project, after five years of preparation, which included working with Maarten Loix to adapt
Lize Spit Lize Spit (born 1988, in Viersel) is a Flemish Belgian writer. Her first novel, ''Het smelt'', won several awards, including the ''De Bronzen Uil'' award, and has been translated into French. Her second novel, ''Ik ben er niet'', launched on 10 ...
's novel ''The Melting'' (''Het smelt'') into a screenplay. The film was initially scheduled for release on November 24, 2022, but was postponed to the fall of 2023. In early December 2022, it was selected for the World Cinema Dramatic competition at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
in the United States, where it had its world premiere on 21 January 2023.


Reception


Critical response

''When It Melts'' received positive reviews from critics. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
AlloCiné AlloCiné is an entertainment website founded by Jean-David Blanc in 1988, then joined by Patrick Holzman. It has belonged to the company since 2013 Webedia. which specializes in providing information on French cinema, mostly centering on nove ...
, the film holds an average score of three and a half stars out of five, based on a survey of 18 reviews.


Accolades


References


External links

* {{Magritte Award for Best Flemish Film 2023 films 2023 drama films Belgian drama films Dutch drama films 2020s Belgian films 2020s Dutch-language films Magritte Award winning films Films produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart