Rosa Marchant, the 17-year-old Belgian actress who plays the lead role in 'Het Smelt,' the first feature film by Flemish actress and director Veerle Baetens, has won the Special Jury Award for Best Performance at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States, the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF) said in a statement on Friday evening.
'Het Smelt' ('When it melts') had its world premiere at the Festival, held in Salt Lake City, in the World Cinema Dramatic category alongside 11 other international productions. It tells the story of Eva, a young woman who returns to her home village years after a scorching summer that left its mark on her, with a block of ice in the trunk of her car to face the past.
The screenplay, written by Veerle Baetens and Maarten Loix, is based on the bestselling 2015 novel by Flemish author Lize Spit.
Rosa Marchant delivers a heartbreaking performance in 'Het Smelt,' together with Charlotte De Bruyne, who plays the older Eva.
The film shows how the young, affection-seeking and vulnerable Eva is shaped into her fragile, isolated adult self, according to the VAF.
The film will be released in Belgian cinemas this autumn.
