'Queen Tut' is an Elevated Film About Expression in Safe Spaces

Egypt doesn't allow flexibility for any letter in the LGBTQ+ acronym. Expressing any form of that culture is dangerous and doing so might get you thrown in prison or, worse, the hospital. This sets up the cultural conflict within Reem Morsi's "Queen Tut," a dramedy about a young closeted Egyptian man, Nabil (Ryan Ali), who navigates through the strict moors of his culture while immersing himself in the Canadian drag scene. He's so bolstered by the beliefs of his church that he doesn't even know what drag is – that is, until he meets Malibu (Alexandra Billings), a drag mother to a troupe of drag queens who perform at her club named Mandy's.

Adding to the conflict, Nabil has an interest in designing fashion – ball gowns, to be exact, and not formal ones. His designs are full of sequins, with plenty of glitz and razzle-dazzle. He is truly talented, and any drag queen would pay thousands to own one. Although he's just starting out, his designs are inspired by his dressmaking mother, who has recently passed.

Ryan Ali is a star alight with extraordinary talent. His performance in "Queen Tut" is a multifaceted range of emotional turmoil, grief, and award-worthy code-switching. Every scene he is in becomes his own. "Queen Tut" is a film that people will appreciate after Ali's star is shining its brightest, and one he can be proud of when it does.

Perhaps evenly matched to his performance is Billings' as Malibu, the rebellious drag club proprietor trying to save Mandy's, a historical gay club being torn down to make way for condos.

As a seasoned actress, Billings knows how to be impassioned for her doomed cause, but restrained enough to be emotionally available for her mentees. Sometimes she perfectly uses the former to educate the latter.

"Queen Tut" juxtaposes a message of queer history and the importance of protecting safe spaces with Nabil's story. Queer bars and gay-friendly establishments are becoming extinct, and their loss thins out the herd of supportive and caring people willing to take in the abandoned and disposed of.

Morsi isn't heavy-handed with that message; instead, he focuses – deservedly so – on Nabil, who discovers the magic and comfort of these places himself. Focusing on Nabil also allows audiences to see Ali's range, which pulls this film from being another simpatico story about a magical trans woman saving a hapless baby gay into one of self-discovery and the final stage of grief.

"Queen Tut" is more than the story of its two main characters. It's as if we are coming in just as these two people, Malibu and Nabil, are coming to terms with their own conflicts. We don't need a recap of what brought both of them to where they are today; it's more interesting to experience the moment when they both realize they are not alone, and there is power in as few numbers as two. It's an effective point of view.

"Queen Tut" will arrive on DVD and VOD on June 11, on platforms including AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, VUDU.