News

On 17 June, the documentary film "The Jump" by Giedrė Žickytė was screened for the first time at the Flagey Cultural Centre in Brussels, Belgium. The film was presented to a large audience by Vida Gražienė, Lithuanian Cultural Attaché to the European Union (EU), as well as the Lithuanian Ambassadors in Brussels, Arnoldas Pranckevičius, Rita Kazragienė and Deividas Matulionis. The screening was followed by a short discussion with the film director.

"We have been in an independent and democratic Europe for 18 years, as full members of the European Union and NATO. And how symbolic it is that we are watching this film on the very day that the European Commission recommended that Ukraine be granted EU candidate status. A country that defends not only its independence and survival, but also European values", said Ambassador Pranckevičius, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the EU, as he introduced the film.

The documentary is the winner of eight international film festivals and three national festivals and has just been awarded the title of Best Long-Length Documentary of the Year at the "Sidabrinė gervė" 2022 National Film Awards.

"The Jump" is a story of Lithuanian courage that captivated the world. In 1970, Simas Kudirka jumped from a Soviet ship onto a US Coast Guard cutter and applied for political asylum. Turned back and imprisoned, Simas received overwhelming international support, with thousands demonstrating for his release. 50 years later, Sim is back on the same American ship and sharing his extraordinary story.