Giedrė Žickytė is the first Lithuanian director to showcase a film at the New York Independent Film Forum

The winner of 20 international awards, film director Giedrė Žickytė is visiting New York City. On September 19-22, at the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) Market in New York, she will present her documentary she is currently working on, “The Jump”, and will meet with representatives of major US TV channels, film festivals, and distributors.

IFP is a prestigious network uniting over 10,000 filmmakers around the world. The IFP Market, held in September in New York, is sponsored by The New York Times. Independent film makers showcase here their films that are still on their way to the cinema screens: The IFP Market becomes a platform for them to find international distributors, festivals, and to attract the attention of the US film industry. Over 100 films from 15 countries have been selected for the program - feature films and documentaries that are at the final stage of production, as potentially important premieres of the coming year 2018.

“The Jump” by Giedrė Žickytė is the first Lithuanian film to be invited to the forum over the nearly 40 years of IFP history, and will be featured in the Spotlight on Documentaries program.

“The Jump” tells the story of the Lithuanian seaman Simas Kudirka who had become a symbol of freedom in 1970, when he tried to escape from the Soviet Union to the United States. Having leaped from a Soviet ship to the US Coast Guard cutter, the man asked for political asylum, but was returned back, and was beaten by the Russians directly on the deck of the American ship. The incident had caused a huge international reaction, demonstrations were held throughout America to support Simas and the independence of the Baltic States. Ultimately, the fate of S.Kudirka, who was locked up in Vladimir prison, had to be resolved by the leaders of the two great powers – the Soviet Union and the United States.

The film is being produced in co-operation with the Lithuanian Film Centre, Lithuanian National Television, European Union’s MEDIA Programme, US Embassy in Lithuania, US Coast Guard, Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense, Latvian Film Institute, French film company Faites Un Voeu, and American film production company Naked Edge Films that has won an Oscar and numerous Emmy awards. The film is listed among the events for the centenary of the restoration of Lithuania’s Independence and will be shown in cinemas in 2018.

Presentation of the upcoming film in New York during the IFP film week was partially supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre.