Moving Mountains

Travel

Directed by: Andrea Costa

Original Idea by: Andrea Costa, Nicolo' Degiorgis

Cast: Moussa Kouruouma, Rita Pechlaner Kienzl

Written by: Irene Reiserer

Produced by: Verena Ranzi

Cinematography: Luca Zontini

Production: Michele Degiorgis

Editor: Beatrice Segolini, Andrea Costa, Verena Ranzi

2'nd Camera: Clara Schönthaler, Julia Inderst

Sound: Federico Fontana, Marco Ober

Length: 29 Min

Completion Date: August, 2024

In this short bilingual documentary about immigration, acceptance, solidarity, and family, viewers are taken on a journey with Moussa, a young African immigrant who finally finds a home on the farm of the elderly farmer Rita in the picturesque Sarentino valley after a long journey. As Moussa tries to build a new life, he takes a job in the wood industry, seeks out new friends and a new home, and actively helps on the field and in the barn.

Throughout the film, the audience witnesses the protagonists in their daily lives, sharing their thoughts on faith, the obstacles and challenges of life, and engaging in a confidential and intimate dialogue.

Whether it’s Rita thinking about her role as mother and grandmother or Moussa trying to find his place and build connections, both are united by their trust in each other and their search for independence.

«If you decide you can move a mountain, you will move it.» For us, this is the meaning of this film, which aims to fly over and transcend limits and boundaries. The intimacy of the profound dialogues between different cultures and sources and the mutual respect and love for one’s neighbour make this work, with the interplay of opposites that characterise it, a story of struggles but also of transformation and hope: an authentic breath of fresh air for a better future for all.

Lessinia Film festival

Two seemingly foreign worlds grow together in this film in a highly sensitive way. In the mountains of South Tyrol, two open-hearted personalities meet and, through this encounter, come to learn something new. With great emotion and powerful, expressive imagery, this film tells a story about respect and integration: not one-sided adaptation and submission, but a genuine openness to one another in a challenging world. With precision and sensitivity, the director stages the confrontation with — and the overcoming of — everyday conflicts and reservations, without ever directing the protagonists’ actions. A film that represents the thematic arc of this category in a truly distinctive way.

Mountainfilm Graz

For originally portraying the overcoming of cultural barriers and mistrust between two such distant realities, through a lens of welcome, tolerance, and freedom.

Bolzano Film Festival Bozen

Moving Mountains

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