THE MELTDOWN (EL DESHIELO) Discovery

Screening to be followed by a conversation with director and screenwriter Manuela Martelli.

An Antarctic iceberg is transported to the other side of the world to be exhibited as a symbol of the impressive natural resources of a country eager to rebrand itself as modern and open after the end of an oppressive and divisive dictatorship. Meanwhile, Ines, a lonely child staying at her grandparents’ southern resort, befriends a teenage German ski champion and witnesses her family’s dealings with foreign investors, as well as the ways they cope with potentially damaging truths. As in her award-winning debut CHILE ’76, Manuela Martelli’s background as an actor (MACHUCA, B-HAPPY) informs her directorial style by delivering intense performances, particularly in the case of newcomer Maya O’Rourke as Ines. Her perspective as a nine-year-old experiencing personal awakenings also reveals the contradictions of Chile’s return to democracy in the early 1990s, and how the handling of a sudden disappearance unsettlingly echoes the lingering vices and silences of the Pinochet era. Martelli’s subtle construction of atmospheres and political allegories about her own country’s recent history confirms her as one of the most compelling new voices to follow in Chilean cinema. –Natalia Ames