Following the death of his mother, a 17-year-old Egyptian teenager, NABIL, relocates to Toronto to live with his estranged father, ISKANDER, an eminent architect. In his exploration of the city, he meets MALIBU, a trans elder, fighting alone against the possible demolition of her haven, MANDY’S, a drag nightclub. Nabil is reminded of his mother, a seamstress, and fashion designer when he learns that Malibu sews all her outfits, and asks Malibu to teach him his mother’s craft. Malibu and Nabil develop a friendship and Nabil is thrust into Malibu’s crusade to save Mandy’s, which has long-time history for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Nabil fails to disclose that it is his own father’s work that is responsible for the impending demolition of Mandy’s, but nonetheless joins the fight. As Nabil comes into his own queer identity, he realizes that he not only needs to sew his mother’s dress, but that he needs to wear it and become QUEEN TUT.F

Past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through the LGBTQ+ archive on a dizzying and erotic quest to unravel his own sexual desires. Rendered in hybrid documentary and stylized dramatizations, DESIRE LINES is a provocative exploration of evolving trans sexuality and identity directed by Jules Rosskam (Paternal Rites, Against a Trans Narrative) and featuring Theo Germaine and Aden Hakimi.