Egyptian filmmaker Sam Abbas put together a movie which tells the story of a closeted Egyptian gay man, saying that in doing so he attempts to help LGBTQ+ individuals in the Middle East who feel "alone."

The film – titled The Wedding (Al Zaffaf) – is about a closeted gay man preparing to get married to a woman. The character's concerns in the movie revolves around how he should keep his secret hidden.

Abbas said that, to him, the film is about "repression and alienation." While the film's setting is in New York, the character in the movie has the same cultural and traditional background as most Egyptians, and is thus subjected to the pressure of being a Muslim and Arab man.

"Cultural and religious upbringings impact day to day lives regardless of a person’s self-decided point of views,” Abbas told IndieWire. “People don’t realize the severity of being a member of the LGBTQ community in some parts of the Middle East. In Egypt for instance it is so bad where you can get targeted for just being associated with the LGBTQ community.”

The Wedding will not be publicly screened in Egypt. However, according to Reuters, there will be invitation-only screenings in unnamed Middle Eastern countries starting from November, in order to keep the audience safe from aggression or violence from those opposing the film's message.

Main image taken from the film's official trailer.