QUEEN TUT Loses Previously Confirmed Toronto Church Location Because of LGBTQ+ Content of the Film

On August 8, 2022, the cast and crew of Queen Tut, a queer immigration revolutionary tale, directed by Egyptian-Canadian up-and-coming filmmaker Reem Morsi (virgins!), starring Ryan Ali (The Hummingbird Project, SkyMed) in the titular role alongside SAG Award-nominee Alexandra Billings (Transparent) and Thom Allison (Pinecone & Pony, Coroner, Killjoys), moved to their second location of the day, the Toronto Metamorphosis Church at 40 Donlands Ave, which was to stand in for an Egyptian Coptic Church.

Despite Production and Locations practicing full due diligence in terms of notifying, permitting, and securing the location, the production was asked to leave when a member of the church's staff inquired about the LGBTQ+ content of the Queen Tut story.

"Church staff had facilitated the permissions and clearances well ahead of time and were fully aware of the content and story of our film. All parties involved were in agreement and the church opened their doors to our cast and crew, until an additional party from the church - whom we were not made aware of by church staff and had not communicated with prior to the day - was in disagreement with the LGBTQ+ content of the film," said Queen Tut Production Manager, Mary Assenza.

Eastminster United Church, Toronto, at 310 Danforth Avenue, stepped up and made themselves available to the production. Filming in the new location was completed on Wednesday, August 31st.

"It's heartbreaking to know that despite so much change and progress throughout Toronto, there remain corners where intolerance for our community result in unequal treatment. We are so grateful to be working with such an inclusive church as Eastminster!" said Shant Joshi and Lindsay Blair Goeldner.

Principal photography runs from August 8-September 30, 2022 on the indie feature.

Queen Tut is produced by Shant Joshi (Framing Agnes) and Lindsay Blair Goeldner (I Like Movies) of Fae Pictures with Lauren Saarimaki (Only Light will Touch Us, Motherly, For the Sake of Vicious) as Associate Producer and Aeschylus Poulos (Brother, Sleeping Giant) and Sonya Di Rienzo (Brother) of Hawkeye Pictures and Alexandra Billings executive producing.

Filming has also taken place in Toronto at Mandy's on the Danforth, THE VILLAGE on Church Street, the Danforth, and East Chinatown.

Queen Tut is based on a script from Abdul Malik (Peace by Chocolate, Transplant), Kaveh Mohebbi (The Lake, The Communist's Daughter, That's My DJ), and Bryan Mark.

The story follows Nabil (Ali), a shy Egyptian teenager who is discovering a new life in Toronto after his seamstress mother passes away in Cairo. He befriends a trans mother (Billings), who inspires him to resurrect his mother's soul in himself by sewing and donning the magnum opus dress that she never completed making.

Cinematography by Issa Shah (EZRA, Grae: Permanent Manic), production design by Michael McShane (Escape the Field, Dragon's Den) costumes by Leeland Mitchell (The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy), editing by Ben Allan (Bigfoot and the Burtons), and choreography by Hollywood Jade (Canada's Drag Race, Priyanka: Bitch I'm Busy, Cake and Queen of the North, Revenge of the Black Best Friend).

The film is financed and produced by Fae Pictures in association with Crave and Hawkeye Pictures with the participation of Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates in partnership with the York University Motion Media Studio at Cinespace Studios.

Queen Tut was selected for the Canadian Creative Accelerator in Los Angeles, the Ontario Creates International Financing Forum, the INSIDE OUT Film Finance Forum, and the Whistler Power Pitch.

Worldwide rights remain available. The film will premiere on Crave in early 2024.

Reem Morsi is a Toronto based Egyptian/Canadian writer/director/producer. She worked as a professional scuba diver then a human rights officer at the United Nations and other International Organizations for a decade prior to becoming a filmmaker. Reem's first feature film was the thriller/drama, The Last Mark (TIFF Industry Selects 2021). Reem has also directed two episodes of Virgins! a new CBC Gem series, including the series finale. Reem's shorts have played at TIFF, Cannes Short Film Corner, Yorkton, BBC, and Cinesud.

Alexandra Billings is an actress, singer, author, teacher, and activist. Alex starred as 'Madame Morrible' in the Broadway production of WICKED, the first trans actor to portray the role. She previously starred on Broadway in the Manhattan Theatre Club production of THE NAP at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater.

Ben Bratley of the NY Times called her performance "...a sensational Broadway debut..." and "...a marvel of glamorous menace." Alex stars in the upcoming Amazon television series The Peripheral. She starred in the award-winning television series Transparent, has had recurring guest starring roles on The Conners, Never Have I Ever, and Goliath, and guest starring roles on How to Get Away with Murder, Grey's Anatomy, E.R., among others.

Ms. Billings was honored to receive the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). She is the recipient of five After Dark Awards and a Joseph Jefferson Award. In 2016, she moderated a panel during Transgender Awareness Month at the (Obama) White House; she won the TPA Award, the Rainbow Spirit Award, and was inducted into the Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in Chicago.

Her autobiographical memoir This Time for Me is published by Amazon Books. Alex earned her Master's Degree at CSULB. She is currently an Associate Professor of Theater at USC. She is a Viewpoints Associate at The Steppenwolf Theater.

Based in Los Angeles and Toronto, FAE PICTURES is an award-winning media production company on a mission to decolonize Hollywood by creating cinematic content for, by, and about queer, trans, and BIPOC people.

Our latest film, Framing Agnes, premiered at Sundance garnering the NEXT Audience Award and NEXT Innovator Award, and we were recently awarded the illustrious TEDDY Award (informally known as the queer Oscar) at the Berlinale for International Dawn Chorus Day.

Our team's work in film and TV has premiered at such festivals as Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Tribeca, Hot Docs, Busan, BFI London, Outfest, NewFest, Inside Out, Black Star, and Bentonville, has earned multiple nominations for Canadian Screen Awards, and has seen theatrical releases, and digital distribution on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Dekkoo, YouTube, and CBC Gem, in Canada, the United States, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and around the world.

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