Blame Obama
2023-05-10 08:15:31 UTC
An Egyptian documentary network has vowed to shoot its own documentary on
the life of Queen Cleopatra after an upcoming film from Netflix ruffled
feathers across the nation.
Cairo-based channel Al Wathaeqya revealed they will take on the project
and will join forces with the documentary production sector of Egypt's
United Media Services, an initiative that aims to accurately represent and
promote Egyptian life.
The filmmakers revealed their plans to tell Queen Cleopatra's real story
in a statement to the Egypt Independent.
"Preparations have begun to produce a documentary about Queen Cleopatra
VII, daughter of Ptolemy XII, known as Cleopatra, the last king of the
Ptolemaic family, that ruled Egypt in the wake of the death of Alexander
the Great," the statement read.
"Based on what is always usual in all the work of the Documentary
Production Sector and Wathaeqya Channel, there are work sessions currently
being held with a number of specialists in history, archeology, and
anthropology."
Al Wathaeqya also vowed to carry out accurate 'subject research related to
the film' while depicting the film and Cleopatra herself as per what the
'utmost levels of research and study' dictate.
The decision to green light a documentary on one of Egypt's greatest
rulers comes only weeks after Netflix released a trailer for their own
impending documentary.
The teaser sparked uproar from people across the Arab nation and soon
became one of the streaming services most disliked trailers ever.
One Egyptian lawyer took his fury to the courts, even filing a lawsuit
against Netflix over the decision to make Cleopatra black.
He has requested that legal action be taken against the creators of the
show and that the streaming service should be shut down in Egypt.
Now, director Tina Gharavi has hit back at the criticisms.
Gharavi, who took the role of director last year, recalled seeing
Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra in the 1963 film and feeling as a child
that the image was 'not right'.
"With this new production, could I find the answers about Cleopatras
heritage and release her from the stranglehold that Hollywood had placed
on her image?," she asked.
Noting that 'the chance of [Cleopatra] being white [was] somewhat
unlikely', So Gharavi began the hunt for 'the right performer' to play the
queen.
She continued: "Why shouldnt Cleopatra be a melanated sister? And why do
some people need Cleopatra to be white? Her proximity to whiteness seems
to give her value, and for some Egyptians it seems to really matter."
As a result, she cast Adele James, who is a Black actor.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Queen Cleopatra will be available to stream via Netflix from May 10.
<https://www.unilad.com/film-and-tv/egyptian-lawyer-sues-netflix-for-
blackwashing-history-over-cleopatra-817977-20230419>
the life of Queen Cleopatra after an upcoming film from Netflix ruffled
feathers across the nation.
Cairo-based channel Al Wathaeqya revealed they will take on the project
and will join forces with the documentary production sector of Egypt's
United Media Services, an initiative that aims to accurately represent and
promote Egyptian life.
The filmmakers revealed their plans to tell Queen Cleopatra's real story
in a statement to the Egypt Independent.
"Preparations have begun to produce a documentary about Queen Cleopatra
VII, daughter of Ptolemy XII, known as Cleopatra, the last king of the
Ptolemaic family, that ruled Egypt in the wake of the death of Alexander
the Great," the statement read.
"Based on what is always usual in all the work of the Documentary
Production Sector and Wathaeqya Channel, there are work sessions currently
being held with a number of specialists in history, archeology, and
anthropology."
Al Wathaeqya also vowed to carry out accurate 'subject research related to
the film' while depicting the film and Cleopatra herself as per what the
'utmost levels of research and study' dictate.
The decision to green light a documentary on one of Egypt's greatest
rulers comes only weeks after Netflix released a trailer for their own
impending documentary.
The teaser sparked uproar from people across the Arab nation and soon
became one of the streaming services most disliked trailers ever.
One Egyptian lawyer took his fury to the courts, even filing a lawsuit
against Netflix over the decision to make Cleopatra black.
He has requested that legal action be taken against the creators of the
show and that the streaming service should be shut down in Egypt.
Now, director Tina Gharavi has hit back at the criticisms.
Gharavi, who took the role of director last year, recalled seeing
Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra in the 1963 film and feeling as a child
that the image was 'not right'.
"With this new production, could I find the answers about Cleopatras
heritage and release her from the stranglehold that Hollywood had placed
on her image?," she asked.
Noting that 'the chance of [Cleopatra] being white [was] somewhat
unlikely', So Gharavi began the hunt for 'the right performer' to play the
queen.
She continued: "Why shouldnt Cleopatra be a melanated sister? And why do
some people need Cleopatra to be white? Her proximity to whiteness seems
to give her value, and for some Egyptians it seems to really matter."
As a result, she cast Adele James, who is a Black actor.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Queen Cleopatra will be available to stream via Netflix from May 10.
<https://www.unilad.com/film-and-tv/egyptian-lawyer-sues-netflix-for-
blackwashing-history-over-cleopatra-817977-20230419>
