Living in Soviet-occupied Latvia, Žanis (Arturs Skrastins) adheres to a strict code of ethics despite an illegal moonshine operation. When Germany invades in June 1941, Žanis is approached by a Jewish friend with desperate pleas to hide his daughter from the Nazis. Fearful of the consequences to his own family, he refuses, but soon after finds himself harboring Jewish families in a German-owned movie theater, then eventually in a bunker he builds in his own basement. Consumed with a profound guilt over the child he could have saved, he becomes determined to redeem himself by providing refuge for as many as possible, refusing no one. Elegantly helmed with escalating tension by documentarian Dāvis Sīmanis, The Mover explores the harrowing circumstances of a family in crisis and their transformative struggle to resistance. This powerful adaptation of a true story is the Latvian submission for the Academy Awards®.

In competition for the FIPRESCI Prize