The Mole:
Undercover in North Korea

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world’s most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.

This series tells the story of ‘The Mole’, an ordinary family man from Denmark turned secret agent, and ‘Mr. James’, a former jet-set cocaine pusher posing as Scandinavian billionaire. Together with director Mads Brügger, they attempt to find a smoking gun to prove how North Korea is busting UN sanctions.

Incredibly, these two unlikely characters gain access to the heart of an international criminal network that produces and distributes drugs and weapons for dubious clients. The Mole and Mr. James use hidden cameras and microphones to secretly record their meetings; contracts are signed, deals are cut and soon the team become involved in a plan to build a secret, underground weapons and drugs factory somewhere in Africa. But how far can they go without blowing their cover?

Gallery

Awards

Danish Film Awards (Robert) 2021: Best Documentary
One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival 2021: One World Audience Award
The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award 2021: Best Entertaining Documentary
TV-Prisen 2022: Best Documentary

Festivals

International premiere Oct 11, 2020 (BBC, DR, NRK, SVT)

Festivals:

2021

The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival
One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
Biografilm Festival
Sarajevo Film Festival
Docs Against Gravity Film Festival
Belgrade International Documentary Film Festival
Inconvenient Films Documentary Film Festival
DOC NYC

Credits

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
MADS BRÜGGER


PRODUCED BY

PIRAYA FILM I
Bjarte Mørner Tveit

WINGMAN MEDIA
Peter Engel

IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH

BBC
Mandy Chang
Hayley Reynolds

NRK
Frank Gander
Solveig Husøy
Cecilie Ellingsen
Martin Gaarder

DR
Thomas Falbe
Mette Hoffman Meyer
Erling Groth
Anders Bruus

SVT
Axel Arnö

Executive Producers
Peter Engel
Bjarte Mørner Tveit
Torstein Grude
Mandy Chang
Hayley Reynolds
Frank Gander
Erling Groth
Axel Arnö

Broadcast Coordinator
Martin Gaarder

Assistant Producer
Nicolai Arnholm

Associate Producers
Nadja Nørgaard Kristensen
Morten Bundgaard
Oddleiv Vik
Joakim Hauge Vocke

Assistant Director
Peter Engel

Second Unit Directors
Heine Kaarsberg
Ola Waagen

Research
Niels Borchert Holm

Editorial Policy Consultant
Philip Abrams

Director of Photography
Jonas Berlin

Additional Cinematography
Heine Kaarsberg
Tore Vollan FNF
Ulrich Løvenskjold Larsen
Ola Waagen
Joakim Hauge Vocke
Mikkel Jeppesen
Kasper Rasmussen
Jeppe Kjær
Peter Engel

1st AC and DIT
Fredrik Klæth Eriksen
Sound Recordists
Ola Waagen
Joakim Hauge Vocke
Ulrich Løvenskjold Larsen

Camera/lighting rental
Hinterland, Norway
Mahogni, Denmark
MAAN Rental, Denmark
Lites, Belgium

Post Producer
Joakim Hauge Vocke

Editors
Nicolás Nørgaard Staffolani
Torkel Gjørv NFK

Co-Editor
Karen Gravås NFK

Additional Editor
Carsten Søsted

Assistant Editing
Ricardo León
Villads Engel Thilo

Colorist
Tom Chr. Lilletvedt

DI Manager
Joakim Hauge Vocke

Online & VFX
Fredrik Klæth Eriksen

Graphic Design
Tobias Røder

Supervising Sound Editor
Eddie Simonsen

Sound Designers
Tobias Lukassen
Kevin Bavnhøj

Music composed, arranged, performed and recorded by
Kaada

Music Supervisor
Mikkel Maltha

Post Production Facilities
Hinterland, Norway
Elk Film, Denmark

Sound & Mix Studio
Mainstream, Denmark


TITLE SEQUENCE AND VISUAL FINISHING

Director and Editor
Kyrre Hervik Larsen

Cinematography
Joakim Hauge Vocke

1st AC
Fredrik Klæth Eriksen

Chief Lighting Technician
Karl Andre Bru

Technical Consultant
Ola Waagen

Translation
London Translations/Global Voices
Converto Translations

Legal Advisors
Jon Wessel-Aas, Lund & co

Consultant MEDIA application
Morten Kjems Hytten Juhl

Security and intelligence consultans
You know who you are

Accounting
Elisabeth Kaale Svela, Sum Regnskap

Auditing
Tore Kristian Tjemsland, statsautorisert revisor
JS Revision

Insurance
Codan Forsikring/Lyberg & Partnere
Frende Skadeforsikring
Tryg Forsikring


ARCHIVE SOURCES
60 Minutes, Australia
Movistar+, Spain
ABC News, USA
New York Times, USA
Al Jazeera, Quatar
NK News, South Korea
Antena3, Spain
Reuters, UK
AP/DigitalGlobe, USA
RT, Russia
Bloomberg Businessweek, USA
La Sexta, Spain
CBS News, USA
Sky News, UK
Channel 4, UK
Tele5, Spain
CNN, USA
El Toro TV, Spain
France 24, France
UN Human Rights Council, Switzerland
Mirror, UK
Yonhap News Agency, South Korea

"The Red Chapel"
Directed by Mads Brügger
Produced by Peter Engel for Zentropa Rambuk © 2009


SPECIAL THANKS
The production wants to thank all the contributors to the film
Ane Cortzen
Joshua Oppenheimer
Søren Jacobsen Damm
Simon Pasternak
Rasmus Horskjær
Nicholas Winding Refn
Rasmus Højfeldt
Jokum Rohde
Eva Jakobsen
Johan Stahl
Sascha Juhl
Helle Thilo
Julie Moestrup
Frederikke Villlaume
Nicoline Latrache-Qvortrup
Doc Norway Market
IDFA Forum
Eilert Smith Hotel
Sundance Film Festival
Herrernes Magasin, David K.
Villa Hellebosch, Jacob Rigaux

PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF

NORSK FILMINSTITUTT
Helle Hansen
Lars Løge
Ola Hunnes

DET DANSKE FILMINSTITUT
Ane Mandrup
Anders Riis-Hansen
Søren Tarp
Helle Hansen
Anne Marie Kürstein

FRITT ORD

STIFTELSEN MATRIARK

MEDIEFONDET ZEFYR
Olav Mellgren

FILMKRAFT ROGALAND
Jan Hauge
Lars Skorpen

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
Creative Europe Programme of the European Union
Hinterland

World Sales
DR Sales, Kim Christiansen

Festival Distribution
Norsk Filminstitutt

© 2020 Piraya Film I AS & Wingman Media ApS