Many years after a sweltering summer that spun out of control, Eva returns to the village she grew up in with an ice block in the back of her car. In the dead of winter, she confronts herself with her past and faces up to her tormentors.

Interview with Director Veerle Baetens

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I met people who have been silenced, after having experienced certain events in life that have caused them pain. Later on, they have silenced themselves as a sort of "defense" mechanism. This mechanism is sometimes difficult to understand for outsiders, myself included. By making this movie, I wanted to get closer to understanding people who have buried their pain deep inside of them where no one can see it and where it silently hollows them out.

With this story I want to touch people. I hope you can relate to the main character and that her story changes you a little bit as well as your point of view on things. I want the audience to become quiet.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

If you like intense movies, that hold suspense in them, this is a movie for you.

When It Melts - an official selection of the World Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

While reading the book, I was touched by the young version of Eva (13), the main character of the movie, because I recognized her "want" to be valued, to matter, to be loved.

Around the age of 13, I felt less pretty than other girls, less fun, less interesting, less smart, less popular. I felt I wasn’t good enough to fall in love with, or to be friends with, or to belong to this or that group, while I desired it so much.

The adult version of Eva fascinated me because of her non capacity to talk, to express herself. This fascination nurished the universal theme of the film.

Western society nowadays is shouting: "Come out and talk about it. Don't be the victim! Fight back and if you loose, if you fall, just fight harder!!!" But what if this person just can't because what has happened is too much to deal with? What if this person didn't get or hasn't got the tools to do so?

It's a story about someone who got estranged from the world around her because she has been blown away by a screamingly loud, predominant society, a society that often praises the strong and weakens the fragile.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The script is an adaptation of a book titled The Melting. It was a bestseller in Belgium and a real challenge to turn into a script. It took us 6 years. It is a work of distilling the most important elements and letting the theme emerge slowly but surely. The biggest challenge was daring to go off grit and change certain characteristics of the book. A beautiful example was making of the main character (Eva) a more active one. In the book, Eva is quite passive and it is a long internal monologue. It is beautiful to read but boring to watch.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Overall, people become quiet after having seen the movie. They find it a heartbreaking, intense movie.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

In the course of the editing, yes of course. Before having finished the edit, the feedback was more like that it was a hard film; I did not want to make a hard film. I wanted to make a film that leaves you heartbroken but not destroyed.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

That people are curious after When It Melts and want to go see it.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Distributors and film festival directors

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope people will go home with the feeling that they have changed a little bit.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How did I work with the young actors.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I am actually discussing the adaptation rights of a play with an English author. I cannot say more about it, but i am very excited to dive into it shortly with my co writer Maarten Loix. Frederic, the cinematographer is taking a little bit of a time of. He has been working hard. My editor is working on a documentary right now, and the costume designer is searching for my outfit for Sundance haha but he has many projects ahead of him.

Interview: January 2023

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

When It Melts

Length: 1:45

Director: Veerle Baetens

Producer: Bart Van Langendonck

Writer: Maarten Loix

Key cast: Charlotte De Bruyne, Rosa Marchant

Looking for: film festival directors, journalists, buyers

Hashtags used: #whenitmelts #veerlebaetens

Other: IMDb