Topic acquires The Jump for North America
Details
Faye Sutton
| 13 December 2021
Topic, the streaming service from First Look Media, has acquired the US and Canadian TVOD rights to Giedrė Žickytė’s documentary The Jump for release in March 2022.
Topic The Jump 13Dec2021

Director and producer Žickytė, alongside producer Uldis Cekulis, tells the story of one of the Cold War’s biggest political muddles in a film which won the Best Documentary Award at the Warsaw Film Festival.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1970, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka defected by jumping off a Soviet vessel aboard a US Coast Guard Cutter and asking for asylum. Through eye-witness reports, rare archival footage and a revealing conversation with Kudirka himself, The Jump takes us through everything that happened after the jump, from Kudirka’s trial by the Soviets for treason to protests begging for his freedom - and the twist of fate that changed everything.

Ryan Chanatry, general manager, Topic, said: “Simas Kudirka is the kind of risk-taker our viewers will immediately be fascinated by. His story, told beautifully by Giedre, is a compelling reflection on the sacrifices we make to better our lives and the hold that our historic roots have on us.”

The Jump is a co-production of Moonmakers, VFS Films, Faites Un Voeu, in association with Naked Edge Films. Jennifer Liang, VP of Acquisitions at Topic, negotiated the deal with MetFilm Sales, which is handling international sales.