If one is in search of a heartwarming and genuine queer tale, they need not look any further than Queen Tut. Following the loss of their closest loved ones, a newly arrived Egyptian immigrant, Nabil (played with depth and heart by newcomer Ryan Ali), and a trans drag mother, Malibu (stalwart talent Alexandra Billings), find solace in the blossoming friendship they discover with each other. As Malibu teaches Nabil in the ways of drag and Nabil helps Malibu’s effort to save her queer bar from “renoviction,” they realize that their efforts to cling to the past are holding them back from manifesting the legacy their loved ones would have wanted.
Directed by Egyptian-Canadian filmmaker Reem Morsi (virgins!), Queen Tut provides a honest and complex portrait of grief, acceptance, and the queer experience. The success of the film owes much to its script, penned by Abdul Malik, Bryan Mark, and Kaveh Mohebbi. The writing trio pull of the tough feat of acknowledging the reality of trans and homophobia while telling a story that is bursting with queer joy.
Ali and Billing’s performances make the script absolutely sing. Its their strength in their respective roles that carry Queen Tut during the few moments the movie lags. Billings’ infuses warmth and gravitas into the role of Malibu and successfully walks the tightrope of playing a larger-than-life character without falling into a caricature. Ali’s performances sparkles like an recently unearthed diamond. He takes the audience on Nabil’s journey with such earnestness and vulnerability that makes it impossible not to watch him whenever he is on screen. One hopes that Queen Tut is the first of many leading roles in his future.
Queen Tut Brings its Queer Community to Life in Technicolor
The film’s world of present-day Toronto is fleshed out by a strong supporting cast. Thom Allison, Kiriana Stanton, Nicky Nasrallah, and Dariush Zadeh color Mandy’s, an queer bar in the city, with a rich and instantly lovable community for Nabil to enter into and for Malibu to hold court with. Dani Jazzar, who plays Nabil’s traditional, residential developer father Iskander, fulfills his role as the film’s antagonist without veering into being a full-on villain. Performances like his and the rest of the cast’s are what allows Queen Tut to move and stay with its audience long after the film is over. Mostafa Shaker, who plays Nabil’s love interest Morcos, is another delightful discovery and actor to watch. Together with Ali, their chemistry and tenderness crackles on screen.
Lead Actors Ryan Ali and Alexandra Billings Attend Film’s LA Premiere
On Wednesday June 5th, lead actors Ryan Ali and Alexandrs Billlings attended Queen Tut‘s LA premiere and participated in a post-film Q&A, moderated by Jonah Blechman. The love between the actors was as palpable as it was on screen, and was the first time they two saw one another since production on Queen Tut concluded. Their easy rapport and guidance from Blechman allowed for everyone at the Q&A to feel as if they were part of the reunion.
When asked about what drew him to the part of Nabil, Ali highlighted to his personal connection to the character’s identity as an immigrant to Canada and a gay man. “A lot of us in this film are playing either a version of ourselves today, or a version of ourselves that we were at one point,” he explained. “When I got this film, I said, I want to dedicate this to my 18 year old self. That is this movie was for, that’s who this character is based on…I went back in the closet for this movie and went back into that time in my life. I think that you know, I connected to most everything in this film.”
Billings on The Importance of Queer Cinema
Drawing from well-earned wisdom and experience, Billings spoke to the need and the cause of the lack of queer mainstream movies. “We lost an entire generation. My generation, I’m 63 years old, so my queer generation is mostly gone…an entire queer generation. So we’re behind in our art by 20 years. That’s why we continually make stories about our safe spaces, where we come, from where we need to go. That’s why these are these films are so important, because they are historical fact.” Billings went on to reveal that the dearth of queer elders is what propelled them to participate in Queen Tut as an actor and an executive producer. The need for telling and preserving queer history arose in rehearsals with the director Morsi, and it was incorporated into the film.
Whether one identifies as queer or not, Queen Tut makes for a heartfelt and heartening viewing experience. While the film’s queerness is essential to Queen Tut its themes of family, religion, and the immigrant experience mean that there is a way in for everyone to relate to Nabil and Malibu. Malibu themself, Billings, perfectly and profoundly encapsulated what makes Queen Tut so universal and irresistible during the Q&A when asserting that the film is not about queerness, but about wholeness.
You know all of us, just as humans have an ownership to our brokenness. And we can pretend it’s not happening. We can pretend that we’re fine. And the goal for me is not to put myself back together. I used to think that that was true when I was younger. So I tried really hard to put myself back together and become “whole” which was futile, because nobody’s like that. Everybody is shattered. And everybody carries with them the grief and the loss, because that opens us up. The more holes in spaces and cracks there are in you, the more light shines through. So this film is about the journey of all of these people towards the idea of spiritual wholeness.
Where to Watch Queen Tut
Queen Tut is now available to stream in the US on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Fandango at Home. You can find out more about the film on the Fae Pictures WEBSITE.
