Acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Alicia Scherson is returning to the Tribeca Festival with a gripping new psychological thriller that blurs the line between game strategy and real-world danger.
Summer War (Guerra de verano), Scherson’s fifth feature film, will make its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, taking place June 3-14 in New York City. The premiere marks a homecoming of sorts for the director, who won Tribeca’s Best New Narrative Director Award in 2005 for her debut feature, Play.
Based on The Third Reich, the novel by celebrated Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, the film transports audiences to 1989 Chile during the final months of General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. The political uncertainty of the era provides an unsettling backdrop for a story that explores obsession, paranoia, and the lingering effects of violence.
The film stars Canadian actor Dan Beirne as Udo Berger, a devoted tabletop war-game champion whose seaside vacation quickly spirals into something far more sinister. Accompanied by his girlfriend, Udo initially intends to enjoy a relaxing getaway. Instead, he becomes consumed by a complex strategy game that recreates World War II battles with meticulous detail.
As Udo immerses himself deeper into the game, reality begins to shift around him. The disappearance of a tourist at sea fuels growing suspicion among those around him, while a tense rivalry emerges between Udo and a mysterious local player. Soon, the rules of the game appear to influence events beyond the tabletop, creating a chilling atmosphere where every move carries consequences.
The international cast includes Lux Pascal, David Gaete, Aline Kuppenheim, and Agustín Pardella, bringing together talent from across the Americas to help realize Scherson’s haunting adaptation.
This is not Scherson’s first encounter with Bolaño’s work. In 2013, she adapted his novella Una novelita lumpen into the film Il Futuro. With Summer War, she once again turns to the author’s exploration of history, memory, and moral ambiguity.
Critics have long regarded Bolaño as one of Latin America’s most influential literary voices, and interest in his work continues to grow worldwide. The timing of the film’s release coincides with renewed attention on his stories, many of which examine the lingering shadows of authoritarianism and political violence.
Part psychological mystery, part historical meditation, Summer War uses the framework of a strategy game to ask unsettling questions about power, masculinity, and humanity’s fascination with conflict. As audiences grapple with the film’s increasingly blurred realities, Scherson offers a thought-provoking reminder that the past is rarely as distant as it seems.