“The Mole Agent” makes history: nominated to Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards

This is the first time that a Chilean film has been nominated for Best Documentary. Maite Alberdi (director) and Marcela Santibáñez (producer) are the first Chilean women to be nominated for an Oscar. The film is also nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards in the Best Documentary category.

REVIEW MAITE ALBERDI’S REACTION TO THE HISTORIC NOMINATION OF HER DOCUMENTARY THE MOLE AGENT

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For one, Alberdi is the first Chilean woman to be nominated for an Oscar, along with her producer Marcela Santibáñez.

In addition, it is the first time that a Chilean documentary is part of the Best Documentary category.

And thirdly, it is the only Latin American film nominated this year.

The Chilean presence at the U.S. Academy Awards has been building in recent years since the nomination of Pablo Larraín’s No (2012), nominated for Best Foreign Film, A Fantastic Woman (2017), winner in the shower category and Bear Story (2016) winner as Best Animated Short Film.

The success of Alberdi’s film extends from early 2020 when it premiered to acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. There, the prestigious site Indiewire called it “the most emotional spy film ever made”. Subsequently, it was part of the official selections of the Karlovy Vary Festival (Czech Republic) and IDFA (Netherlands).

At San Sebastian it participated in the “Pearls” section and was awarded by the public with the Best European Film Award.

The film has also had a successful run at other Spanish festivals such as Abycine, Seville, Valladolid and Gijón.

ON IT’S WAY TO THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

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El agente topo also continues its run to the Independent Spirit Awards, the independent film awards given since 1984 in the United States (ceremony scheduled for April 22).

In addition, it will have premieres in several countries around the world. These are the new challenges for one of the most acclaimed, applauded and endearing films of recent Chilean cinema.

“It is an honor to have been on the Shortlist with such an incredible range of documentary films and we are really grateful to the Hollywood Academy for having chosen us,” says Maite. She adds, “For a Latin American team led by women, this kind of dream seems impossible, but this year has taught us to look at life from a different angle.”

The filmmaker further said that “this nomination means to every senior, that the world still sees them and values them and helps us to remember that it is not only important to increase life expectancy, but the desire to live.”

And she closed by saying, “This year, after so much loss, we took a look at our older adults again and understood that they were living in a pandemic before COVID – the pandemic of loneliness – and we are so proud to see how “The Mole Agent” has helped families reconnect with their elders.”