This week, Saturday Cinema invites you into Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, a story of warmth and hardship set against the backdrop of a war-torn foreign land, where ordinary people hold fast to their principles and bear witness to the enduring kindness of the human spirit.

Film: Once Upon a Time in the Middle East

Time: Saturday, September 19, 2026, 19:00

Venue:

Xueyuan Road Campus: Academic Exchange Hall

Shahe Campus: Yongman Theater

Film Introduction:

Chef Xu Fu leaves his homeland to make a living abroad and pay off his debts. Devoting himself to running his small Dragon Restaurant, he clings to the belief that he should keep to himself and stay out of the conflicts and suffering around him. However, when war erupts and shatters everyday life, leaving destruction and displacement in its wake, he finally sets aside his own concerns and throws open the restaurant's doors. With each bowl of hot food, he brings comfort to lives uprooted by conflict. No longer merely a means of making a living, his stove becomes a haven of warmth amid the smoke of battle.

War may consume bustling streets, but the goodwill of humanity will never be extinguished. This film is not a tale of earth-shattering heroism, but rather a story of ordinary people choosing goodness in troubled times.

Editor: Lyu Xingyun