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Episode details

World Service,26 Apr 2023,15 mins

Why has a Black Cleopatra upset Egyptians?

Africa Daily

Available for over a year

An upcoming Netflix documentary film has caused drama in Egypt. The film is part of a series about African queens and one of those featured is Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen. So many movies about her have been made over the years, but there’s one difference with this new film – Cleopatra is played by a Black actress. Alan Kasujja is looking at why a Black actress playing Cleopatra has enraged a nation, and he’s been speaking with the BBC Arabic Trending reporter, Fairouz Hosny. He also spoke to Dr. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist and historian, to look back into Cleopatra’s heritage.

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