Credits

Director / Producer:
Giedre Zickyte

Producers:
Daniel Chalfen
Uldis Cekulis
Catherine Simeon

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. 

Awards & Festivals

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

Press

“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