JIFF: The Mover

The Story

“I never counted them.I saved whomever I could save, I did not count." - Zanis Lipke

This Latvian feature film offers a gripping true account of Žanis Lipke, a blue-collar worker honoured as one of the 'Righteous Among the Nations' for his heroic deeds during World War II. Despite his family’s hardship under successive Soviet and German occupations, Lipke embarked on a covert operation to save local Jews from Nazi persecution and certain death, moving them from the Riga ghetto to an underground bunker hidden on his property. Director Davis Simanis creates a powerfully ominous and suspenseful atmosphere, positioning the viewer, like Lipke, as a reluctant eyewitness to unfolding horrors.

Language: Latvian (English subtitles)

Rating

E

Duration

Cast

Dainis Grube, Arturs Skrastins, Steffen Scheumann

Director

Davis Simanis