In 1970, off the coast of Cape Cod, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka jumped from his Soviet ship onto a US Coast Guard vessel seeking asylum. Denied refuge by the American crew, Simas was sentenced to a Soviet labor camp for treason, sparking an international cause célèbre. As his dramatic case played out in the media and up through the highest levels of the US government, this ordinary man became a symbol for freedom-seeking refugees everywhere. It was later discovered and verified that his mother had been born in Brooklyn and gone to Lithuania at a young age, which meant she was a U. S. citizen. As a result, Kudirka was declared a U. S. citizen and in 1974 released by the Soviets. His story was told in a 1978 made-for-TV movie, THE DEFECTION OF SIMAS KURDIRKA, starring Alan Arkin as Kudirka.
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Guest Speaker recorded via Zoom: Director Giedre Žickyte, moderated by Tom Needham, Host of The Sounds of Film at WUSB radio.
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