The free movies showing at JBR this Diff 2016

Festival programmers have once again chosen an intriguing and varied selection of vintage classics, international picks and box-office hits. Just be sure to get there early before the venue fills up.

A handout movie still from A Fistful of Dollars. Courtesy DIFF

If you are a fan of movies, but do not want to spend hours sitting in a dark cinema now the weather is so nice, the ever-popular outdoor venue, The Beach at JBR, is the perfect way to get a taste of Diff – and best of all, it is completely free.

Festival programmers have once again chosen an intriguing and varied selection of vintage classics, international picks and box-office hits to screen in the open air, often accompanied by live performances or appearances by the stars. Just be sure to get there early before the venue fills up.

Highlights from this year’s Beach programme include:

• Lutz Gregor's experimental musical documentary, Mali Blues, which will be accompanied by a live performance from some of the Malian musicians featured in the film (Friday, December 9, 7.30pm).

• A remastered version of Sergio Leone's classic 1964 spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars (Saturday, December 10, 7.30pm), starring Clint Eastwood.

• A 50th anniversary screening of Batman: The Movie (Tuesday, December 13, 7.30pm), the 1966 big-screen spin-off from the classic TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward.

Those not lucky enough to be going to Wednesday's invitation-only opening-night screening of Miss Sloane can console themselves with a trip to The Beach instead, where the entertainment begins at 8pm with the regional premiere of American writer-director Jordan Roberts's new film, Burn Your Maps.

Roberts is best known for writing the English narration for the Oscar-winning French hit March of the Penguins and co-writing the Disney animation Big Hero 6.

His new film is a comedy featuring Jacob Tremblay, star of last year's festival opener Room, as an 8-year-old boy who becomes convinced he is a Mongolian goat herder. Virginia Madsen and Vera Farmiga co-star.