Het smelt

There might be a change this title rings a bell with you. The Melting (Het Smelt in Dutch) is the film adaptation of Lize Spit's wildly popular bestseller. Veerle Baetens, who makes her directorial debut with this coming-of-age, has the honour of visualising this gripping story. And she does so, powerfully. Baetens herself was deeply moved by the loneliness of the main character Eva (played by Charlotte de Bruyne) after reading the book, and she has managed to translate that feeling onto the screen.

As in the book, the film switches between Eva's life as a child and as an adult. Her childhood is branded by a tumultuous summer that completely derails. When, years later, Eva returns to the small, Belgian village where she was born, she is confronted with the demons of her childhood. Determined, she decides to leave a powerful message behind.