The Fourth Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns in 2021 as a hybrid festival with both in-person and virtual screenings on November 3-14! From November 3 through 7, in-person screenings and events will take place at Scandinavia House in New York, presented in accordance with new COVID-19 safety guidance and protocols. Following the success of last year’s festival, the online version will once again be available to viewers all across the U.S. via the Elevent streaming platform November 3-14.

On November 7, see The Jump (dir. Giedre Zickyte, Lithuania, 2021, Documentary). It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1970. The U.S. coast guard sets out to meet a Soviet vessel anchored just off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard for a one-day conference between the two nations 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 U.S. begging for his freedom. All hope seems lost, until new information about Simas’ citizenship surfaces. Through eyewitness reports, rare archival footage and a dramatic first-person re-enactment by now 90-year-old would-be defector Simas Kudirka, director Giedrė Žickytė takes us on a stranger-than-fiction journey reaching all the way up to the White House.

Tickets to this event must be purchased in advance online at the link above; film screenings will take place in Victor Borge Hall. All attendees are required to present proof of vaccination upon arrival in compliance with New York State government; read more here. Attendees are required to follow all Scandinavia House safety protocols, including wearing masks during the program and observing social distancing rules in signage. Please read our full safety protocols here.

Virtual screenings of this film will take place from November 8-14. To read more and purchase virtual passes, please click here.

About the Director

Giedrė Žickytė is European Film Academy-nominated documentary film director and producer based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Žickytė graduated with a master’s degree in visual arts from Vilnius Art Academy in 2008 and is the founder of the production company MOONMAKERS. Her feature film MASTER AND TATYANA won Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing at the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards in 2015.

I’M NOT FROM HERE was nominated at the 2016 European Film Academy Awards and won over a dozen other awards, including Sesterce d’or Fondation Goblet at Visions du Reel (Switzerland). Additionally, she produced THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE by Iryna Tsilyk, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. THE JUMP is her latest film.

About NYBFF

Established in 2018, the New York Baltic Film Festival is presented and organized by Scandinavia House in collaboration with the Consulate General of Estonia, Consulate General of Lithuania, and Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations in New York.

Financial support for the festival comes from the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center, with additional sponsorship by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, American Latvian Association, LV-100, Printful, PBLA Culture Fund and the Lithuanian Foundation and the Embassy of Latvia in Washington DC.

Organizers & Sponsors