Arab independent films are enjoying a resurgence in terms of festival and commercial success affirms Antoine Khalife, the Red Sea Film Festival’s director of Arab programs and film classics, citing the example of Egyptian thriller “Flight 404,” which has grossed over $4 million in Saudi Arabia this year.

Khalife praises the modern spirit of recent Egyptian independent cinema and has chosen two titles for this year’s official selection – “Seeking Haven for Mr Rambo,” about an evicted man who seeks a new home for himself and his loyal dog, and “Snow White,” about a woman with dwarfism who develops a relationship with a man over the internet. “They’re both very modern and highly unusual films, which don’t just try to convey a message,” explains Khalife.

Red Sea’s opening film is a Saudi-Egyptian coproduction, “The Tale Of Daye’s Family,” about an 11-year-old Nubian albino boy who travels...