SIZZLE
Logline
An American woman’s search for her birth mother unravels a dark web of illegal adoptions from Chile— exposing a covert operation fueled by interference from the U.S. government—leaving families now fighting for truth and accountability in the pursuit of justice.
Synopsis
As Adrian Reamey searches for her Chilean birth mother, she discovers an article about an American man stolen as a baby from Chile in the 1980s and trafficked to the United States through an illegal adoption — leaving Adrian grappling to wonder if she, too, was stolen. Her search quickly unravels into a full investigation in this three-part, true-crime documentary series where a horrifying truth emerges. An estimated 20,000 babies were trafficked internationally during the Pinochet dictatorship at the hands of an elaborate network involving the Chilean military government, judges, hospitals, Catholic priests, orphanages, and social workers.
Alongside powerful testimonies from Chilean adoptees, birth mothers, economists, and politicians, government officials in both Chile and the United States provide shocking insight into the extent of the network, the systemic cover-up, and the role of the U.S. government.
With heart-wrenching interviews, expert testimonies, and emotional reunions, Hola Mamá captures the profound toll of human rights violations and battle of those now willing to fight for justice.
A True-Crime Limited-Series Documentary
Told through gripping accounts from adoptees and birth mothers, with chilling revelations from investigators and experts, Hola Mamá is a three-part limited series exposing a calculated, transnational scheme that preyed on vulnerable women, shattered families, and turned babies into international commodities. What unfolds is a vast web of corruption: judges, doctors, social workers, religious leaders, orphanages, and even foreign agencies each playing a role— many complicit, all silent. How could something this widespread go undetected for so long? And worse—how do you expose a crime protected by policy?
The truth traces back to a buried history. In the 1970s-80s, Chile’s economic crisis collided with Cold War politics and U.S. influence, where the fear of communism justified aggressive, covert operations and political interference. In this climate, poverty became criminalized, policies shifted to justify the separation of families, and adoption became a booming market. Behind it all was a ruthless regime with a history of disappearing people. What happens when those meant to protect are the ones who profit the most?
With each reunion, another truth surfaces. The stolen begin to speak. The exploited are no longer silenced. But the search for truth is a race against time—statutes of limitations, buried and destroyed records, and institutional silence stand in the way. And those who profited the most remain protected in the shadows.
Hola Mamá traces the path of the stolen, uncovering the global network that made it possible. Mothers, children and families are rising—determined to reunite, expose the truth, and fight for justice before it’s too late.
The Story Begins
Episode 1: The SEARCH BEGINS
When American adoptee ADRIAN REAMEY stumbles upon a news article about stolen Chilean babies,
her own adoption story—once accepted at face value—suddenly feels suspect. Could Adrian have been stolen too? As she digs deeper, she uncovers clues in her adoption paperwork and troubling signs of coercion.
With the help of NOS BUSCAMOS a local Chilean non-profit helping to reunite families, Adrian connects with her birth mother and reveals a tangled history of state-sanctioned silence, conservative ideology, and unanswered questions. What begins as a personal search opens the door to a deeper investigation: one that exposes an
extensive network and hints at a global crime hidden in plain sight.
Episode 2: THE NETWORK
Adrian’s journey expands as she meets other Chilean adoptees with stories far darker than her own—stories of babies stolen from hospitals, birth mothers gaslit and institutionalized,
and falsified paperwork covering criminal acts.
As the stories converge, a broader picture emerges: a coordinated trafficking ring enabled by judges, priests, social workers, and hospitals. At its core lies a common motive—PROFIT.
Backed by Pinochet’s authoritarian regime and a booming adoption demand from the United States, poverty was criminalized and motherhood weaponized. The deeper the adoptees dig, the clearer it becomes. This was a SYSTEM.
Episode 3: The SYSTEM EXPOSED
Determined to seek truth and justice, Adrian, and a growing group of adoptees, trace the roots of the adoption scheme to its geopolitical origins. Through expert testimonies and uncovering historical documents, they expose the role of the United States in Augusto Pinochet’s rise to power and how Cold War ideology helped fuel a child export market masked as humanitarian aid.
But the fight for recognition hits wall after wall. With government turnover and delayed justice, the whole truth still remains buried under legal loopholes and the failure of institutions to act. As the team presses forward, they reach the halls of power—both in Chile and Washington D.C.—where the real culprits are harder to name, and accountability remains just out of reach.
MAMAS
The series goes beyond criminal activity to illuminate the human toll and profound loss suffered by the young, poor, unwed mothers—each one bearing the unimaginable loss of a beloved child for decades and now sharing their anguish and personal circumstances that made them prime targets to be preyed upon.
ADOPTEES
The human toll is also entrenched in the haunting journey of our adoptees—now adults—who have spent their lives
chasing fragments of truth and living with lies. As they dig through falsified documents and buried secrets, each inch closer to the mothers they never knew. Their stories of longing, identity, and resilience reveal the lasting scars of a system built to erase them—and the strength it takes to reclaim what was stolen.
in the Press
Since the filming of HOLA MAMÁ began in the summer of 2022, several of the adoptees featured in our film, as well as the NGO Nos Buscamos helping to facilitate the reunions, have all received significant press coverage from various news and media outlets.
Here are some of the press highlights to date:
