Documentary "THE JUMP": Screening and Discussion with Director G. Žickytė

The Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C.

The Embassy of Lithuania  invites you to the screening of Lithuanian documentary "The JUMP" and the discussion with director Giedrė Žickytė.

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1970. The US coast guard sets out to meet a Soviet vessel anchored just off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard. A one-day conference between the two nations has been set to discuss fishing rights in the Atlantic Ocean. While the talks are in full swing, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka jumps across the icy water onto the American boat in a frantic bid for freedom. To his horror, and to the outcry of the world media, the Americans return him to the soviets and he is tried for treason. The event sets off a series of protests throughout the US begging for his freedom and all hope seems lost, until new information about Simas’ citizenship surfaces.Through eye-witness reports, rare archival footage and a dramatic first-person reenactment by now 91-year-old would-be defector Simas Kudirka, director Giedrė Žickytė takes us on a stranger-than-fiction journey that became an inspiration for people, pictures and politics, reaching all the way up to the White House.After the movie screening, we will have an opportunity to discuss the documentary and this incredible story with the director Giedrė Žickytė.GIEDRĖ ŽICKYTĖ is film director and producer based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the founder of the production company MOONMAKERS (www.moonmakers.lt). Her films have been selected at numerous international film festivals including IDFA, Hot Docs, DOC NYC, Visions du Réel (Sesterce d’or Fondation Goblet Award), Rotterdam IFF, Warsaw FF (Best Documentary Feature Award), etc., and won over 30 international and national awards. Her films have been widely theatrically distributed and broadcast on television internationally. Filmography: THE JUMP (2020); I’M NOT FROM HERE (2016); MASTER AND TATYANA (2014); HOW WE PLAYED THE REVOLUTION (2011).IMPORTANT NOTE: AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center requires proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result from within the past 72 hours for entry. Masks are also required.

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