Support Giedrė Žičkytė movie THE JUMP by visiting Uppers Cafe & Bakeshop

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. So many things to be grateful for – loving souls in our lives, health, your support but most importantly Freedom.

Did you know that during Thanksgiving in 1970, just off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka jumped off a Soviet vessel onto a US Coast Guard cutter in a frantic bid for freedom? November 23rd marks 51 years since Simas Kudirka’s JUMP to Freedom.

Today Simas Kudirka’s story is portrayed in the movie THE JUMP by Giedrė Žickytė and told through eyewitness reports, rare archival footage, and a dramatic first-person re-enactment by the now 90-year-old would-be defector. THE JUMP is a Lithuanian candidate for the 2022 Oscars Best Documentary Feature Film and you can watch it at the Laemmle Glendale movie theater from Nov. 26 – Dec. 2. For more information about the screenings and to buy tickets, visit: Glendale – Laemmle.com.

You can also help support a local grassroots Oscar campaign being launched by Uppers Cafe & Bakeshop in partnership with the LWAC (Lithuanian Arts World Council) and LABA.LA Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles). A very special cookie package with THE JUMP and Thanksgiving themed royal icing cookies is available now at 2024 Broadway in Santa Monica. It’s a limited release so stop by soon.

We’re thankful for all your support and want to say a big Thanks to You!

Uppers Cafe & Bakeshop