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‘Cinema Nights’ Back in Saudi Arabia with Exclusive Shows

The Red Sea Film Foundation logo
The Red Sea Film Foundation logo
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‘Cinema Nights’ Back in Saudi Arabia with Exclusive Shows

The Red Sea Film Foundation logo
The Red Sea Film Foundation logo

The Red Sea Film Foundation has announced the return of the “Cinema Nights” series, which will be held on Thursday in partnership with Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
The “Cinema Nights” program will present a selected series of exclusive film screenings, including the “Night Music” and the Saudi film “Noura” by Saudi director and writer Tawfiq Al-Zaidi, in addition to other Saudi and international short films which will be screened in the JAX District in Diriyah.
The program offers visitors captivating cinematic experiences according to the latest audio and video technologies, with Arabic and English subtitles available for all films scheduled to be screened. The program will also show a selection of feature films every Thursday from April 18 to May 23, with the weekend being allocated to short films from May 10 to 11.
Question and answer sessions will also be organized with distinguished cinematic talents, providing the audience with the opportunity to interact with the filmmakers and ask their questions. This exceptional partnership between two of the Kingdom’s foremost cultural institutions aims to enrich the cinematic and cultural landscape, enhance creativity, and attract promising talents in the film industry.

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Varieties

In Freezing Temperatures, Swimmers in China Plunge into a River for Health and Joy

A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
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In Freezing Temperatures, Swimmers in China Plunge into a River for Health and Joy

A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)

Even as the mercury dropped below freezing, enthusiasm soared among about a dozen hardy swimmers during an annual ritual in northeast China’s ice city of Harbin.

The swimmers had trained daily throughout the year for this moment.

They first had to carve out a pool in the Songhua River, thawing the 10-centimeter (4-inch) thick ice that froze overnight. Then they stripped down and, one by one, plunged into the bone-chilling waters of the pool about 10 meters (33 feet) long.

Some said their limbs were already numb when the air temperature fell to minus 13 degrees Celsius (8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Chen Xia, from the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, dived into the river even though she was suffering from a cold. She said the waters in her home city were warmer than those in Harbin, where the temperature was about 0 C (32 F).

The experience strengthened her confidence in winter swimming, a sport she has been devoted to for about two decades.

“I felt prickling all over my body,” said Chen, 56. “But it still made me feel blissful."

Harbin resident Yu Xiaofeng said winter swimming in her city can be dated back to the 1970s, after locals saw Russian Orthodox faithful being baptized in the river. In 1983, the city's winter swimming association was established.

Yu, 61, said she found a sense of a big family and joy during her 30 years of swimming.

“Since the pandemic, we came up with a slogan: Rather suffer through winter swimming than line up at the hospital,” she said, adding that winter swimmers appeared to have better health than others.

You Decang, 76, said swimming kept him healthy and he had never caught a cold.

"If I go just one day without winter swimming, I feel quite uncomfortable,” he said.