At the age of 83, Sergio Chamy became a spy. Their goal? Enter a nursing home to investigate what is happening to one of its residents. The story is portrayed in the non-fiction film The Mole Agent, directed by Maite Alberdi and produced by Marcela Santibáñez -both Chilean-, and which is nominated for Best Documentary at the 2021 Oscars, becoming a recognition that marks several milestones: for the first time a Chilean documentary is part of the Best Documentary category. In addition, Maite Alberdi is the first Chilean woman to be nominated for an Oscar. And finally, it's the only Latin American film nominated this year.
Chile's presence at the Oscars has been building in recent years: from the nomination of Pablo Larraín's "No" (2012), as Best Foreign Film, and "A Fantastic Woman" (2017), which managed to win the statuette in that category, to "Story of a Bear," which won Best Animated Short Film in 2016.
The success of The Mole Agent began in early 2020 when it premiered to acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival. At the time, the renowned independent film site Indiewire called it "the most emotional spy movie ever made." After its presentation at the U.S. festival, the tour of movie theaters would come, but the pandemic changed the plans, andThe Mole Agent had to look for new promotion and distribution strategies. That's how it was launched with a virtual preview in Chile and then came the virtual viewings, locally and internationally, gaining the approval of the public and critics.
The Chilean documentary was part of the official selections of the Karlovy Vary Festival, in the Czech Republic, and the IDFA in Amsterdam. In San Sebastian, it participated in the "Pearls" section and was awarded by the public with the Award for Best European Film – as it is a co-production between Chile, Spain, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. After that, a successful tour of other Spanish festivals such as Abycine, Seville, Valladolid and Gijón followed.
Then, in January of this year, it surprised with the nomination for the Goya Awards, as Best Ibero-American Film, an award that was finally not awarded. But that same month The Mole Agent added a new recognition, after being nominated in the Best Documentary category at the Independent Spirit Awards, dedicated to independent cinema.
That ceremony will take place on April 24 in Los Angeles (USA), just one day before the 93rd edition of the Academy Awards that will be presented by the Academy on April 25, when it will be known if Chile finally wins a new statuette with The Mole Agent.
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