Amani Ibrahim

Damascus, Spring 2011. It's the early stages of the civil war. 25-year-old Nahla is torn between her desire for freedom and the hope of leaving the country thanks to her arranged marriage with Samir, a Syrian expatriate in the USA. When he chooses her younger, more docile sister Myriam, Nahla finds refuge at her neighbor's, the mysterious Ms Jiji.

Upon the loss of his mother, an Egyptian teenager leaves his home of Cairo to live with his father in Toronto. Parachuted into the underground queer nightlife in Toronto, he confronts his mother's death, much to his father's disapproval, by taking up the ways of drag and becoming Queen Tut.

Rashid, a doctor from Syria, struggles to adjust to his life in Canada after five years in Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park with his wife Farah and son Ammar. He tries to hold on to his old identity by working as an unlicensed doctor for his neighbours. While Farah becomes more involved in their local community, tensions between her and Rashid begin to take their toll on their fragile marriage.

In present-day Nablus, amidst the confines of a home masking an ant nest within its walls, Aya, a depressed young woman, is faced with a life-changing scholarship offer to study abroad and caught between the enticement of her dreams and the weight of potentially abandoning her lonely mother. As the discussions about the persistent acts unfold, long-suppressed emotions start to surface. Through the lens of these seemingly insignificant creatures, Aya and Lamia find a channel to express their true feelings, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of each other's struggles and desires. “De-Clutter" is a poignant exploration of the complexities of familial love, sacrifice, and the unspoken burdens we carry.