Dock-u-mentary: The Jump

Join NB Fishing Heritage Center and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park for our first Dock-u-mentary film screening of the fall 2026 season! On Friday, October 16 at 7:00pm, we will be screening the 2020 documentary The Jump. In 1970, off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard, Lithuanian radio operator Simas Kudirka jumped from a Soviet ship onto a US Coast Guard vessel in a frantic bid for freedom. Denied asylum by the American crew, Simas was sentenced to a Soviet labor camp for treason, sparking an international outcry. His dramatic case, full of surprising twists and turns, set off a chaotic series of events, leading to one of the biggest political muddles during the Cold War. Runtime: 84 minutes. Watch the trailer here

The film screening is a special tie-in with the Center’s ongoing exhibit, , which explores the complicated history and legacy of the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.  

About Dock-u-mentaries: Hosted in partnership with New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, Dock-u-mentaries is a free film series hosted at the National Park auditorium at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford on every third Friday at 7:00pm from October 2026 through March 2027. These films explore a variety of themes and topics related to the commercial fishing industry and the working waterfront.