El agente topo

Direction
Maite Alberdi
Country
Chile
Format
Feature film
Type
Documentary
Original title
El agente topo
Scenario
Maite Alberdi

Maite Alberdi

Filmography

LOS NIÑOS, long-métrage documentaire, 2016. Premier prix Compétition Officielle IDFA 2016, prix EDA du Meilleur documentaire réalisé par une femme, Compétition documentaire Toulouse 2017, Compétition documentaire de Guadalajara 2017, Vrai-Faux États-Unis 2017 LA ONCE, long-métrage documentaire, 2014 . Premier prix Compétition Première apparition IDFA 2014: Prix EDA du meilleur documentaire réalisé par une femme, Meilleur documentaire, Festival de Miami 2015, Meilleur documentaire, Docs de Barcelone 2015, Meilleur documentaire festival de Cartagena EL SALVAVIDAS, long-métrage documentaire, 2011. Compétition Officielle l’IDFA 2011, Prix spécial du jury, festival de Guadalajara 2012, meilleur documentaire des nouveaux talents du Docs de Barcelone 2012, Compétition internationale du festival de Valdivia 2011 YO NO SOY DE AQUÍ, court-métrage documentaire, 2016. Meilleur courtmétrage, Visions sudest 2016, Meilleur court-métrage, Cameraimage 2016, Prix du public, Documenta Madrid 2016, nominé pour le prix du film Européen : meilleur court-métrage

Note of intent

In non-fiction, we have been limited to journalistic police shows, but not creative documentaries regarding secret investigations. I hope to crossover traditional police fiction with observation documentary, portraying a social microcosm from a gender narrative structure, building humor from contrast: a police man in a home with no illicit activity, an elderly private detective, etc. The contrast between daily humor and the drama of facts will lead me to build a story that states in a unique way, a deep reflection about elderly life nowadays.

Synopsis

Romulo is a private investigator hired to study an elderly retirement home where residents might be victims of abuse. He hires Oscar, an 82-year-old Mole Agent, and trains him to become a spy. Inside the asylum, Oscar records what at first seems like irregular behavior. But his camera is always late to capture the denouncing material, which does not yield any concrete evidence other than normal life. As days go by, Oscar realizes the residents’ loneliness and identifies with it; he thinks his family forgot about him and starts to feel just like his companions.
From the absurd comedic humor of crime novels and the excuse of identifying alleged illicit behavior, The Mole Agent is an anthropological investigation that leads us to the question of exclusion of the elderly from daily life, portraying deep-rooted social behavior in regards to the way of life of Senior Adults in Latin America.

Visual concept

This film has the challenge of portraying a police documentary, seeming like a traditional fiction film at the beginning, without being one. Through the mission of the detective and the mole agent, the film will depict an apparent traditional narrative approach. But while the story takes place, it will derive into an observational documentary, leading us into the intimate and privileged point of view of the mole agent, portraying what happens in first person within the asylum premises.

Objectives sought in Films in Development

Encounter with potential co producers, sales agents, and overall creative feedback from industry professionals.

Shooting planned date

August –December 2017

Planned shooting location

Santiago – Chili

Percentage of funding in place
59%
Project's development phase

In development

Producer's biography

Since 2009, Marcela Santibáñez has been developing and producing multiple projects, including short films, TV Shows and mainly documentaries. In 2014 she obtained her MFA in Film Producing at UCLA. Upon her return to Chile, she began working with documentarian Maite Alberdi, producing the Goya Awards campaign for her film Tea Time, and is now producing her upcoming feature The Mole Agent.