Wikipedia

The Silence of the Mole

The Silence of the Mole (Spanish: El silencio del topo) is a 2021 Guatemalan documentary film directed by Anaïs Taracena. It tells the story of the journalist Elías Barahona, better known as The Mole, who between 1976 and 1980 was infiltrated as press secretary of the Guatemalan Ministry of the Interior.[1] It was selected as the Guatemalan entry in the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[2]

El silencio del topo
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnaïs Taracena
Produced byRafael González
Anaïs Taracena
CinematographyCarla Molina
Edited byPedro G. García
Production
companies
Asombro Producciones
Colet & Co.
Ek Balam Producciones
Release dates
  • April 2021 (2021-04) (Canada)
  • June 2, 2022 (2022-06-02) (Guatemala)
  • February 10, 2023 (2023-02-10) (Mexico)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryGuatemala
LanguageSpanish

Synopsis

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Throughout the 1970s, journalist Elías Barahona, alias El Topo (The Mole), infiltrated the heart of one of Guatemala's most repressive governments. By revealing the story of this reserved and unique individual, The Silence of the Mole captures the moments when revelations from the past open cracks in the walls of silence of a story that remains hidden.[3]

Release

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The film had its world premiere at the end of April 2021 at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2021 in Toronto, Canada.[4][5] The film was released commercially on 2 June 2022, in Guatemalan theaters.[6] It had a limited release on 10 February 2023, in Mexican theaters.[7]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Best Documentary The Silence of the Mole Nominated [8]
Sheffield International Documentary Festival Tim Hetherington Award Anaïs Taracena Won [9][10]
Youth Jury Award Nominated
Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival Truth Award The Silence of the Mole Nominated [11]
Special Mention – Truth Award Won
International Documentary Film Festival of Mexico City Best Documentary Won [12]
2022 New Creators Film Awards Best International Documentary Won [13]
LASA Film Festival LASA Award of Merit in Film Won [14]
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Won [15]
Acampadoc 2022 Best International Documentary Won [16]
Latin American Eye Sucre International Human Rights Festival Pukanawi Award Won [12]
Majordocs Festival Audience Awards Won [17]
Jeonju International Film Festival Special Jury Prize Won [18]
Málaga Spanish Film Festival Best Documentary Won [19][20]
Macondo Awards Best Ibero-American Feature Film Won [21]
Atlantidoc Best First Feature Won [22]
Ibero-Latin American Film Festival of Yale Best Documentary Won [12]
Rosario Latin American Film Festival Human Rights Award Won [23]
Trieste Ibero-Latin American Film Festival Special Mention Won [24]
La Plata Latin American Film Festival Special Mention Won [25]
LatinUy Film Festival Best Documentary Won [26]
Icarus Festival Best Central American Documentary Feature Film Won [27]
International Festival of the New Latin American Cinema of Havana Special Choral Award of the Documentary Feature Jury Won [28]
Geneva Film Festival and Human Rights Forum Gilda Vieira de Mello Won [29]
Izmir International Documentary Festival Best Documentary Film Won [30]
2023 Platino Awards Best Documentary Nominated [31][32]

References

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  1. ^ "| El silencio del Topo". Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. ^ ""El silencio del topo" va por el Óscar". elPeriodico de Guatemala (in Spanish). 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. ^ "El silencio del topo (película 2021) – Tráiler. resumen, reparto y dónde ver. Dirigida por Anaïs Taracena". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  4. ^ ""El silencio del Topo", una luz para la memoria fragmentada de Guatemala". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2021". MUBI. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Estreno en Guatemala, este fin de semana, de "El silencio del Topo"". Agenda Cultural Guatemala (in Spanish). 2 June 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  7. ^ Flores, Daniel (2 February 2023). "El silencio del Topo, de la directora Anais Taracena llega a cines el 10 de febrero – CIONoticias" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (2021)". IMDb. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Tim Hetherington Trust | Tim Hetherington Award at Sheffield Documentary Festival 2021 13 June 2021Sheffield". Tim Hetherington Trust. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (14 June 2021). "'This Land is Our Land,' 'Ali and His Miracle Sheep' Win Sheffield Doc/Fest Awards". Variety. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Dokufest 2021: The complete winners". MODERN TIMES REVIEW. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "ESTRENO: EL SILENCIO DEL TOPO | Kinoki" (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  13. ^ "New Creators Film Awards – February Edition Winners – INDIEWRAP". 27 February 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Congratulations to the LASA2022 Film Festival winners". Latin American Studies Association. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Austin's Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2022 announces filmmaker awards after successful return to theaters". Films Gone Wild. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Anaís Taracena: "Para nosotros es un logro que nos hayan seleccionado" por la película guatemalteca "El silencio del topo", la propuesta para el Óscar 2023" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Festival Report: Majordocs 2022". MODERN TIMES REVIEW. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  18. ^ Festival, Asian Film (6 May 2022). "23rd Jeonju International Film Festival – Awards 2022". Asian Film Festivals. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  19. ^ ""El silencio del topo": documental guatemalteco gana el premio a Mejor Documental en el Festival de Málaga" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  20. ^ Ñ, createRedacción Cine con (26 March 2022). "Palmarés del Festival de Málaga 2022: CINCO LOBITOS, gran ganadora" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  21. ^ "El Silencio del Topo es el mejor largometraje iberoamericano en Premios Macondo". Prensa Comunitaria (in Spanish). 8 November 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  22. ^ diaria, la (24 October 2022). "Delia, de Victoria Pena, ganó el premio Mejor Largometraje Uruguayo en Atlantidoc". la diaria (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Todos los ganadores del 28° Festival de Cine Latinoamericano de Rosario". EscribiendoCine (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  24. ^ Redacción (19 November 2022). "Néstor Mazzini ganó el premio a la Mejor Dirección por "Cuando oscurece" en el Festival de Trieste". GPS Audiovisual (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Noticias: Todos los premios del 17° Festival de Cine Latinoamericano de La Plata (FESAALP) – Otros Cines". www.otroscines.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Todos los ganadores del 15º Festival LATINUY Punta del Este". EscribiendoCine (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  27. ^ Innovate, Grupo. "Festival Icaro". festivalicaro.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Eami con mayor premio de documental en fiesta del cine de La Habana – Prensa Latina" (in Spanish). 10 December 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  29. ^ "El documental guatemalteco "El silencio del topo" es premiado en Ginebra" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  30. ^ "results | IZDOC Izmir International Documentary Festival". IZDOC (in Turkish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Premios PLATINO. Nominadas". www.premiosplatino.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  32. ^ Hopewell, Pablo Sandoval, John; Sandoval, Pablo; Hopewell, John (22 April 2023). "Platino Awards Crown 'Argentina, 1985,' 'News of a Kidnapping' – and Amazon Studios, Prime Video". Variety. Retrieved 27 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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