For the casual movie fan, one of the highlights of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is the opportunity to catch entertaining and engaging movies under the stars.
So it’s good news that for the first time this year the festival will host a series of screenings at JBR’s The Beach development every night, entirely free to watch.
Among the highlights is Bill Murray comedy St Vincent, which will roll on the opening night of Wednesday December 10.
It marks the first time there has been more than one movie screened on the first day of the festival, and offers the general public a chance to get into the spirit while the invite-only opening gala takes place down the road at Madinat Jumeiraih.
Other highlights include the Sesame Street documentary I Am Big Bird on Thursday December 11, Indian-American rom-com Meet the Patels on Friday December 12, and the world premiere of Emirati comedy Abood Kandaishan on Saturday December 13.
Things continue on Monday December 14 with Indian family drama The Crow's Egg and Red Army, on Tuesday December 15, a flashback to the glory days of the Soviet Union's national hockey team which charts how the team's successes on the ice were used to project socialist strength in Cold War days.
The series closes on Wednesday December 16 with heartwarming UK teen comedy X + Y.
All screenings take place at 7.30pm, apart from the opening night screening of St Vincent, which starts at 8pm.
Last year DIFF hosted a series of free screenings at Burj Park, while the 2011 edition of the festival featured alfresco screenings on JBR beach as part of the former music-focused Rhythm and Reels series.
For the full schedule of free films screening at The Beach click here.
