The Jump

2020 • 83’ • Lithuania / Latvia / France

It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1970, the Atlantic Ocean. A US patrol boat meets a Soviet fishing vessel. A Soviet sailor 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. Through rare archival footage and a dramatic, first-person re-enactment by the would-be defector, 86-year-old Simas Kudirka, we relive one of the most unpredictable Cold War muddles. 

Director / Producer:
Giedre Zickyte

Producers:
Daniel Chalfen, Uldis Cekulis, Catherine Simeon

  • Best Documentary Award Winner
    — Warsaw International Film Festival 2020



    Special Jury Award Winner
    Audience Award Winner
    — Salem Film Festival 2021

    Herz Frank Best Director Winner
    — ArtDoc Fest 2021

    Audience Award Winner
    — DOCVILLE International Film Festival 2021

    Grand Prix
    — EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF) 2021

    Audience Award
    — Port Jefferson Film Festival 2021

    Special Mention
    —Budapest International Film Festival

    Rome Film Festival 2020
    DOC NYC 2020
    Ji.hlava 2020
    Nordic Film Days Lübeck 2020
    Tallinn Black Nights 2020
    Revelation Film Festival Perth 2020
    Art Doc Fest Russia 2020
    FIPADOC 2021
    DocPoint Helsinki 2021
    Durango Independent Film Festival 2021
    Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2021
    Port Jefferson Documentary Film Series 2021
    Sarasota Film Festival 2021
    Docs Barcelona 2021
    DocEdge 2021
    DocVille 2021
    Nantucket Film Festival 2021
    Lubuskie Film Summer 2021
    Northern Lights Film Festival Belarus 2021
    Farad Documentary Film Festival 2021
    Baltic Film Days Munich 2021
    European Film Festival South Africa 2021
    Baltic Film Days Oslo 2021
    Baltic Film Festival NY 2021
    East by Southeast Film Festival Copenhagen 2021
    Palm Springs International Film Festival 2022
    Budapest International Documentary Film Festival 2022
    Boston Baltic Film Festival 2022
    Chicago European Union Film Festival 2022
    EU Film Festival 2022
    Baltic Film Days 2022
    Faito DOC Festival 2022
    Lost Weekend Film Festival 2022

  • “The story is brilliantly told and rich in surprises, and The Jump is surely one of this year’s unmissable non-fiction titles.”
    — Cineuropa

    “Genuinely entertaining.”
    “One of the best stories churned out by the cold war.”
    — It's Just Movies

    “Žickytė’s documentary is an elegantly shot and edited portrait of Kudirka...The story is brilliantly told and rich in surprises, and The Jump is surely one of this year’s unmissable non-fiction titles.”
    — Cineuropa

    “Darkly ebullient... kind of a Werner Herzog character — odd, endearing, and gamely enduring the absurdities of life.”  
    — The Boston Globe

    “The lively nature of the film’s protagonist and his extraordinary life story is The Jump’s greatest asset, making it a respectful and inspirational piece of documentary cinema.”
    — Ubiquariuan

Filmmaker’s Biography

GIEDRĖ ŽICKYTĖ is an EFA (European Film Academy) nominated film director and producer based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the founder of the production company MOONMAKERS. Giedrė graduated with a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from Vilnius Art Academy in 2007 and since 2010 started working in the international field of documentary cinema. 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).