DIFF heads to the beach

On DIFF’s opening night (December 10), audiences will be able to watch all the action from the red carpet, followed by a free screening of Theodore Melfi’s comedy St Vincent, starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy. Murray plays a cantankerous, anti-social man who is forced into a friendship with a young neighbour.

Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker’s feature-length documentary I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story will screen on December 11. The film is about Caroll Spinney who has played Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969 and at the age of 80 has no intention of stopping.

The rest of the week’s screenings include:

Meet The Patels (December 12) – brother and sister duo Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel’s comedic look at a man’s struggle to find a wife through traditional Indian means. The film recently won the audience award at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Abood Kandaishan (December 13) – the world premiere of Fadel Almheiri’s comedic take on the life of a man who fights against being transferred to a different department at work.

The Crow’s Egg (December 14) – Tamil director M. Manikandan’s story of two Indian brothers whose lives are transformed when their mother brings home a television set and they start to yearn for the pizza they see in TV ads.

Red Army (December 15) – Gabe Polsky’s documentary about the Soviet ice hockey team, thought by many to be the greatest team ever assembled.

X+Y (December 16) – Directed by Morgan Matthews, this inspirational drama tells the story of a socially awkward teenage math prodigy who lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad. 

All the screenings are free and begin at 7:30 pm each evening.

Overlooking the Arabian Sea, The Beach is a new 300,000 square feet development in Dubai that also houses shops, restaurants, a cineplex and a play area for kids.