Followed by a Belgian beer and chocolates reception hosted by Flanders Delegation in the USA.
“Baetens has taken a topic most people wouldn’t care to touch and made an extraordinary, and extraordinarily sensitive, movie.” - Sarah Manvel, In Their Own League
“Destined to become one of 2023's most talked about films…feels like a concoction of Lars von Trier, Michael Haneke, and Yorgos Lanthimos.” - Frank J. Avella, Edge Media Network
Monday, March 4, 6:15 p.m. | When the isolated and reclusive Eva (Charlotte De Bruyne) learns of a memorial celebration for a long lost friend, she is plunged into the past, recalling her sensitive 13-year-old-self (Rosa Marchant) and the sweltering summer when her life was irrevocably damaged. Adapted from Belgium’s coveted Bronzen Uil prize–winning eponymous novel written by Lize Spit, and winner of a special jury prize for Marchant’s heartbreaking performance as the young Eva, WHEN IT MELTS is a bitter and unflinching portrait of childhood trauma and its reverberations. Content consideration: contains themes of sexual assault and violence. Followed by a Belgian beer and chocolates reception hosted by Flanders Delegation in the USA.
Awards & Nominations
Winner - Best Performance (Rosa Marchant), World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award, Sundance Film Festival
Nominee - Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema - Dramatic, Sundance Film Festival
Winner - New Directors Competition, Best Fiction, São Paulo International Film Festival
Winner - Best Film, Braunschweig International Film Festival
Chicago European Union Film Festival - Spotlight on Belgium: Join us this year as we dive into the best of Belgian cinema new and old. Presenting Chicago audiences with a potent cultural immersion and showcasing bright new native talents alongside a slice of repertory favorites. View full festival.
The Film Center thanks the consulates, consuls general, and cultural institutes of the European Union in Chicago and their embassies in Washington, D.C., for their support, partnership, and collaboration. Special thanks to Paul M. Van Halteren, president of EuroChicago and Honorary Consul of Belgium in Illinois, and our 2024 Belgium Spotlight partners:
European Union Center w/European Union Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI NRC Program.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu