Kino Lorber Acquires U.S. Rights to Manuela Martelli's Cannes Un Certain Regard Selection 'The Meltdown'
“The atmospheric second feature from director Manuela Martelli uses a child’s loss of innocence as an allegory for Chile’s reckoning in the post-Pinochet era.”
– Wendy Ide, Screen International
"Confused connections, parental proxies, colonial histories — Martelli interweaves these narrative strands with skill and artistry.”
– Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
“Quietly commanding, narratively rich… Martelli’s deft writing inserts piercing observations inside casual moments and employs Inés as a perceptive witness to it all.”
– Carlos Aguilar, The Playlist
Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Manuela Martelli’s period Chilean mystery The Meltdown, which had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film will be released theatrically by Kino Lorber in early 2027 followed by a digital, educational, and home video release.
The follow-up to her Pinochet-era political thriller Chile ‘76, The Meltdown is written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Manuela Martelli. The film stars Maya O’Rourke, Maia Rae Domagala, Saskia Rosendahl, Jakub Gierszal, Paulina Urrutia, and Mauricio Pešutić.
The year is 1992, just two years after the end of Augusto Pinochet’s regime, and Chile is in the midst of an economic miracle. Nine-year-old Inés is staying at her grandparents’ Andean ski resort while her parents attend a trade conference in Seville. There, she befriends Hanna, a German teenager training to be a competitive skier while rebelling against the strictures of her regimented life. When Hanna vanishes without a trace and her mother enlists Inés’s help as a translator, the search for the missing teenager exposes hidden truths that test the young girl’s loyalties and echo her country’s dark history.
The deal for The Meltdown was negotiated by Kino Lorber VP of Acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer and Alex C. Lo of Cinema Inutile. In addition to the U.S. deal, the film has been sold internationally by Alice Lesort of Les Films du Losange to France (Les Films du Losange), Benelux (Imagine), Switzerland (Trigon-Film), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), Greece (Weird Wave), Turkey (Chantier Films), Iceland (Bíó Paradís), Poland (Cinobo) and CIS excluding Ukraine and the Baltic countries (Universal Distribution). The film will also be distributed in Chile (El Camino), Spain (Elastica) and Mexico (Piano).
“I am very happy to be renewing our collaboration with Kino Lorber and Trigon Film, who released Chile '76 in the United States and Switzerland”, said director Manuela Martelli. “It is very encouraging to know that The Meltdown will have a life in so many territories. That is what ultimately gives a film its true meaning and purpose: reaching people. The Meltdown deals with a moment in Chile’s history when democracy was only just beginning to recover after a long period of dictatorship. I hope that this exercise of revisiting history will resonate with audiences around the world and help us feel closer to one another. In the end, I believe our histories are often far more connected and similar than we tend to imagine.”
“We are thrilled to be reteaming with Manuela Martelli, whose previous film Chile ‘76 was a hit with U.S. critics and audiences alike,” said Dwyer. “With The Meltdown, she once again brilliantly employs elements of mystery/thriller filmmaking to explore Chile’s political history from the perspective of strong and complex female protagonists.”
The Meltdown is produced by Alejandra García for Ronda Cine (Chile), Alex C. Lo for Cinema Inutile (USA), and Andrés Wood for Wood Producciones (Chile). It is co-produced by María Zamora for Elastica Films (Spain), Julio Chavezmontes for Piano (Mexico), and Pablo Díaz for Fundación Río (Chile).