Chile has selected Manuela Martelli’s The Meltdown as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, placing the director’s second feature in one of the most closely watched races in world cinema. The decision was announced by the Academy of Cinema of Chile following a three-week voting process involving members of the country’s audiovisual sector.
The selection gives The Meltdown, originally titled El deshielo, the opportunity to compete for Chile’s next Oscar nomination. The country has a notable Academy Awards history, with films such as A Fantastic Woman and Bear Story earning Oscars, while Chilean cinematographer Claudio Miranda has also won an Academy Award.
Written and directed by Martelli, The Meltdown marks her second feature following 1976, which established her as an important Chilean filmmaking voice internationally. The new film features an international cast including Saskia Rosendahl, Jakub Gierszal, Paulina Urrutia and Mauricio Pešutić, alongside Maya O’Rourke and Maia Rae Domagala.
Behind the camera, Benjamín Echazarreta serves as cinematographer, Mariá Portugal composed the music, Nohemí González handled production design and Yibrán Asuad edited the film. The 108-minute feature is a co-production between Chile, the United States, Spain and Mexico, led by Ronda Cine, Cinema Inutile and Wood Producciones, with Elastica Films, Piano and Fundación Río also involved.
The Meltdown had already gained international visibility before Chile selected it for the Oscars. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, giving Martelli’s latest work an important platform on the international festival circuit. The Cannes selection followed the attention generated by 1976 and introduced her new film to critics, buyers and international audiences.
Chile’s selection is an important national endorsement, but it does not guarantee an Oscar nomination. Each participating country or territory can submit one eligible film for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category. The Academy will subsequently review the submissions before announcing its shortlist and, later, the five films that will receive nominations.
The coming months will therefore be crucial for The Meltdown. Martelli’s film will have to stand out among submissions from countries around the world as the awards race progresses. Its Cannes premiere and Chilean selection give it international visibility, but competition for a place on the final shortlist will be intense.
Chile enters this year’s Oscar race with a strong history at the Academy Awards. Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the category’s former name, while Gabriel Osorio’s Bear Story won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Miranda also won an Oscar for his cinematography on Life of Pi.
Those achievements provide important context, but The Meltdown now faces its own awards journey. Chile has made its choice, and Martelli’s second feature will carry the country into the next stage of the international awards season.
Whether The Meltdown reaches the shortlist or ultimately secures an Oscar nomination remains to be seen. For now, Chile’s selection has given the film a major new platform, putting Martelli and her latest work before Academy voters as the country once again looks to make its mark on cinema’s biggest awards stage.
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