Grinding away at the inherited family business, Mohamed works tirelessly making sales of knock-off perfume while living as a knock-off version of his true self. Grappling with the recent loss of his father, his mother's anxious attempts to get him married and the shadow of his hidden Queer identity, Mohamed finds solace and connection in a day spent with a beautiful stranger who lives in self-acceptance and sees Mohamed for who he truly is, under the many layers of polo-sport-adjacent cologne.

About the filmmaker:

Fateema is a Palestinian/ Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. Her work explores fragmented identity, isolation and connection through a lens of grounded "oh no, should I laugh?" comedy. Fateema’s background in improv and clown greatly influences her writing/directing process as she strives to create with integrity, depth & a sense of humor. Fateema is particularly passionate about writing nuanced and humanizing representations of Arabs and Muslims for the screen and creating space for marginalized voices both in front of and behind the camera. Her short film Feeling Fine was awarded Best Actor in a Short Film at the Berlin Indie Film Festival and has screened at festivals from Saskatchewan to Australia. She is currently workshopping her feature film Waves/‘Amwaj which has been developed through Cinephilia Productions writer’s workroom under acclaimed Lebanese-American filmmaker Darine Hotait and in the Women in the Directors Chair Career Advancement Module. Fateema believes in resilience and resistance through laughter and embraces comedy to explore the pains and joys of being human.