Thaw, the new film by Manuela Martelli, hits cinemas on August 26, 2026. Presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival 2026, this drama follows a child confronted with the disappearance of a young athlete in a Chile still scarred by the years of dictatorship.
In 1992, nine-year-old Inès is staying with her grandparents, who own a hotel in a ski resort in the Andes. There she meets Hanna, a German teenager who has come to train in the region. The two girls form a bond, until Hanna disappears without a trace.
Inès then tries to make sense of what happened to her. Her childlike gaze meets the silences of the adults and the secrets surrounding the hotel, in a country that has returned to democracy yet remains haunted by the legacy of dictatorship. This disappearance frames the personal quest within a broader historical context, without divorcing Hanna’s search from Chile’s collective memory.
Dégel is the second feature by Manuela Martelli after Chili 1976, released in France in 2023. The Chilean filmmaker continues to explore the aftermath of the dictatorship, this time shifting the story to the early years of democracy and narrating it through the eyes of a young girl.
Maya O'Rourke stars as Inès. The cast also includes Saskia Rosendahl, Maia Rae Domagala, Jakub Gierszał, Paulina Urrutia and Mauricio Pešutić. Manuela Martelli also serves as the screenwriter for the film, with music by Mariá Portugal.
To plan your upcoming family outings, also check out our guide to films to see in cinemas in August 2026, the films to see right now, and our pick of the year's dramas.
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