Manuela Martelli’s period mystery The Meltdown has been selected to represent Chile in the best international feature film category at the 2027 Oscars, which will mark the 99th Academy Awards. The Chilean Film Academy unveiled the decision on Wednesday.
The film, the sophomore feature of actress-turned-writer/director Martelli (God Will Not Help, The Future), will be released in Chile on Sept. 3. Kino Lorber acquired the U.S. distribution rights and is planning a theatrical release in the U.S. in early 2027, followed by a digital, educational, and home video release.
The Meltdown had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where The Hollywood Reporter featured it as a hidden gem.
The follow-up to Martelli’s General Augusto Pinochet-era political thriller Chile ‘76 stars Maya O’Rourke, Maia Rae Domagala, Saskia Rosendahl, Jakub Gierszal, Paulina Urrutia and Mauricio Pešutić. Set in 1992, just two years after the end of Pinochet’s regime and amid Chile’s “economic miracle,” nine-year-old Inés is staying at her grandparents’ Andean ski resort while her parents attend a trade conference in Seville. 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’ help as a translator, the search for the missing teenager raises questions and exposes hidden truths that test the young girl’s loyalties and echo her country’s dark history.”
