"Queen Tut" is a delightful new Canadian film that covers a lot of ground. During the course of its 100-minute running time, the film deals with class issues, gentrification, coming out, homophobia and transphobia. "Queen Tut" (Fae Pictures) has played on Canadian TV, but so far it has been sparsely seen in the USA, which is a shame. This is a film that deserves to find an audience.
Alexandra Billings, a seasoned Broadway performer who was most recently seen as Madame Morrible in "Wicked," stars and also served as an executive producer on the film. She plays Malibu, a transgender woman who owns and operates an LGBT bar in Toronto's gay village. Billings is herself a trans woman.
Malibu's bar is facing destruction, as a local developer wants to tear down the whole block to build condos. Malibu has started a grassroots campaign comprised of drag queens and drag kings to save the bar.
Nabil (Ryan Ali) is a Coptic Christian from Egypt who has just moved to Toronto to live with his estranged father after the death of his mother. It's Nabil's father Iskander (Danni Jazzar) who wants to tear the bar down. Nabil is deep in the closet, though he flirts with another young man at his father's church.
After meeting Malibu, Nabil gets involved in the campaign to save the bar. Slowly but surely, he begins to come out of the closet. He makes a flaming red gown which he wears to a protest held at the office of the developers and assumes the drag name Queen Tut. Naturally, Nabil's father is horrified.
"I love you," says Iskander. "But there are certain things we can never talk about."
Nabil holds his ground and further embraces his new, chosen family, which comes to include the young man he flirted with at church.
Ali, a rising star in film and TV, has amassed an impressive list of credits. Syrian-born, he speaks in both English and Arabic in "Queen Tut." Adorably cute, he offers a strong performance as a young man looking to find his way in the world. His character shows tremendous growth throughout the course of the film.
At first, he's shy and timid, but under Malibu's tutelage he slowly comes out of his shell and morphs into a confident, out gay man. Ali also gets a chance to show off his belly dancing skills. As Queen Tut he belly-dances for his appreciative new friends, who join him in the dance. As Queen Tut, Ali is quite fierce-looking. He also begins a romance with Morcos (Mostafa Shaker).
Billings has worked on stage for years, but her film appearances have been sparse (including a notable role in the 2022 scifi series "The Peripheral." Why she isn't a movie star is a mystery, as she's riveting whenever she's on camera. Malibu is a strong, hard as nails woman who also has a heart of gold. She takes Nabil under her wing and nurtures him, almost like a mother. But when she faces off with the developers who want to take her bar away, she takes no prisoners.
"What's your name?" one of the developers asks her.
"Malibu," she replies.
"What's your last name?"
"It's just Malibu, like Cher," she says defiantly.
"Queen Tut" is a film that has a lot to say, and it delivers its message without preaching. It shows how LGBT people form families of choice in a world that often rejects them. Nabil's father may love him, but Dad will never accept who his son is. With Malibu and her friends, he finds a true family, he finds his people.
"Queen Tut" is an uplifting film, a coming-of-age drama with heart, humor and a real sense of pride. Hopefully this review will help it find the audience it deserves.
"Queen Tut" is now streaming on Amazon Prime, and available on DVD.
www.faepictures.com
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