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The Last Spy is the riveting biography of 102-year-old CIA spymaster Peter Sichel, revealing for the first time the epic and unvarnished history of the US foreign intelligence service from the inside. With a good dose of wit and humor to boot, Sichel unpacks the obscured roots of conflicts that plague today’s world and the toll espionage took on his personal life.

Synopsis

When the CIA discourages spymaster Peter Sichel from writing his memoirs and returns a heavily redacted manuscript, the sharp as ever 102-year-old decides it’s time to tell his own story—unredacted.

What he reveals is an extraordinary life lived at the crossroads of Western history and the shadowy world of intelligence. Born into a wealthy German Jewish family in 1922, his privileged life is shattered by Hitler’s rise to power. After his family is forced to flee to the U.S., he quickly finds himself to be a rising star in the OSS, America’s first intelligence agency. Known as the “Wunderkind” of espionage, he would go on to navigate the shadowy world of Cold War intrigue, uncovering Soviet secrets and witnessing the darker side of CIA operations. But his bold tactics would earn him both admiration and suspicion, with whispers of him being a Soviet spy casting a shadow over his allegiances.

A compelling, unfiltered account from a CIA spymaster, Sichel recounts his extraordinary life with wit and wisdom, reflecting on the many lives he has lived along the way.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Katharina Otto-Bernstein — Writer/Director
A two-time Emmy nominated filmmaker, Otto-Bernstein most recently served as a producer of Joyland, winner of the Cannes Jury Prize, the Independent Spirit Award and short-listed for the Academy Awards in 2023 and Oh, Canada (Cannes, 2024). Nonfiction works [selection] include the HBO documentaries Absolute Wilson, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, The Price of Everything and the documentaries Beautopia, When Night falls over Moscow, The Need for Speed, Obsessed with Light, and Crossing the River. Otto-Bernstein’s films have been screened at festivals worldwide, including Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, BFI etc. She has won the Silver Hugo [IFF Chicago], and has been nominated for Critics’ Choice Awards, Cinema Eye Award and GLAAD Awards. She is a principal at FMI. Professional memberships include WGA, PGA, ATAS, IATAS, and NYWIFT.

Oleg Dubson — Producer
Head of Productions at FMI where he oversees the US-based projects, Oleg Dubson’s producing credits include Oh, Canada (Cannes), Joyland (winner of two awards at Cannes Film Festival); Self (Director and Producer, Berlin International Film Festival); Barrel of Love (Director and Producer, Distrital Mexico City Film Festival), The Return of Tragedy (Actor, Venice Film Festival). Dubson previously worked on distribution campaigns for Jane Campion’s Bright Star, Nicholas Refn’s Drive, Angelina Jolie’s In the Land of Blood and Honey, James Wan’s Insidious, and Jean-Marc Vallee’s The Young Victoria among other titles. Dubson is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Simon Kilmurry — Executive Producer
A documentary producer & executive producer, Simon Kilmurry has received a Primetime Emmy, 17 News & Doc Emmys, and eight Peabody Awards. Current films include Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, which was short-listed for the Academy Awards in 2024, My Name is Andrea, and El Equipo. Kilmurry’s films have been selected by Venice, Telluride, Sundance, Toronto, BFI etc. He served as executive director of IDA (2015-21) and executive producer of POV on PBS (2007-15). He is currently serving as a Board of Governor for the Academy Awards Documentary Branch.

David Dinerstein — Executive Producer
Academy Award winning producer for Summer of Soul, Dinerstein served as Executive Producer on the Academy Award nominated Netflix documentary Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, and on the HBO Emmy-Award nominated documentary Cries from Syria. He served as President at Paramount Pictures and was a studio executive at 20th Century Fox. Dinerstein has been involved in the production, marketing or distribution on over 200 movies including Pulp Fiction, American Hustle, Her, The Illusionist, The Full Monty, Paris Is Burning, Mad Hot Ballroom. His films have garnered over 100 Academy Award Nominations and 15 Academy Awards.

Matthew Cohn — Editor
Winner of The Vaclav Havel Jury Award for Editing at the Miami Film Festival for Strangers to Peace (Winner, Best Documentary), Cohn’s credits include Sembene! (Cannes Film Festival), Through a Lens Darkly (Sundance Film Festival), Bangla Surf Girls (Hot Docs), Councilwoman (Havana Film Festival), Independent Lens. Matthew Cohn is a graduate of Middlebury College and received his MA from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.