CAiro May 28.The Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office has received a complaint demanding to ban the screening of the Netflix documentary «Queen Cleopatra» in the country, which caused widespread discontent among Egyptians, El Watan newspaper reports, citing the document.
The premiere of the documentary «Queen Cleopatra», in which the main role performed by a black actress from the UK Adele James, took place on May 10 on Netflix. Even after the release of the trailer in April, the film was heavily criticized in Egypt.
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«Advisor Essam Refaat, at the end of his message, demanded that the film be taken off the Netflix platform and permanently banned,» the newspaper cites the content of the complaint against the series.
The document, in particular, noted that the display of the painting took place without coordination of the artistic idea and the method of its implementation with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, as well as the Ministry of Culture of the country. Moreover, the author of the complaint, Legal Adviser to the Minister of Culture Essam Refaat, stressed that Netflix distorted a well-known historical image, thereby creating a historical forgery.
Refaat expressed the opinion that the authors of the film about Cleopatra during its creation had to turn to specialists in the field of archeology and anthropology to create a correct image of the central character.
Earlier, the chief archaeologist at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Magdi Shaker, said that the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra was not dark-skinned. Speaking about the goals of the Netflix film, the specialist expressed the opinion that the West is thus «trying to distort civilization with the desire to interfere in it.» At the same time, Shaker stressed that the West could not ignite a conflict of civilizations.
Queen Cleopatra came from the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty, she ascended the throne at the age of 18. Cleopatra was known for her sharp mind, education and fatal charm. Her image in history is shrouded in legends about numerous dramatic novels. In 30 BC, Cleopatra and her lover, the Roman general Mark Antony, reportedly committed suicide shortly after their defeat at the Battle of Actium against the Roman Emperor Octavian. Presumably they were buried together. The burial place of Cleopatra has not yet been discovered.