A MOVING documentary about a Sunderland swimmer training for an ‘Ice Mile’ will receive its regional premiere in her home city next month.
The Ice Mile charts a year of training for swimmer Becca Harvey and the unique and uplifting film will be shown on Thursday, January 26 at The Fire Station. An ice mile is a one-mile swim under International Ice Swimming Association rules in water temperature of five degrees Celsius or less, wearing a standard costume, goggles and a swim hat.
The film follows Becca over 12 months, coming out of the solitude of Covid lockdowns to being back in the buzz of community swim events as she trains towards her Ice Mile challenge. The film explores grief, healing, community – and the power of cold water swimming.
Becca completed the astonishing swim at Loch Insh, Kincraig, Scotland, in March 2022 completing years of gruelling recovery from a serious car crash. Becca is one of only 700 people in the world who has completed the challenge of swimming a mile in waters under 5C.
She said open water swimming, which she started in January 2018, had helped her get through PTSD after the car accident.
She said: “I had bad headaches, fatigue, pain in my legs and arms, like physical symptoms of stress. After years of therapy and medication, nothing worked.
“Open water swimming is like extreme meditation. It triggers your stress response so your mind cannot focus on anything else apart from how cold you are. You lose every other worry. It’s hard when you’re in there, but then when you get out you remember it gives you the space you need.”
Becca, who swims in the North Sea off Roker, also has two medals under her belt from ice swimming championships.
The regional premiere of The Ice Mile will be followed by a chat with Becca, hosted by Gilly McArthur and featuring open water swimming coach Fenwick Ridley and film maker Rachel Sarah. A percentage of sales will go to Beach Access North East, a charity promoting social inclusion and independence for disabled people and elderly people across the region by providing the free loan of specialised equipment at beaches.
Becca added: “”It’s one thing to have a film made about you, but the real icing on the cake is to show it in my hometown at The Fire Station. I want to show people there are more than enough reasons to come and visit Sunderland – I’m proud to be a Mackem.”
For tickets, priced £11, go to www.thefirestation.org.uk
* Earlier in the same week, The Fire Station will be staging a very different performance when The John Martyn Project brings the music of the legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist to the venue (Sunday, January 22).
Through a long career, Martyn blurred the boundaries between folk, jazz, rock and blues, and The John Martyn Project is a band of skilled and talented musicians brought together to celebrate his unique music.
This diversity of different musical paths of the musicians recreate the many different aspects and eras of Martyn’s music and is delivered in a sensitive and poignant manner. For this very special concert, the band will take you on a musical journey through the much loved and lesser-known John Martyn compositions as well as some tunes from his contemporaries.
Tickets for The John Martyn Project are available from The Fire Station’s website – www.thefirestation.org.uk – starting from £11.